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Storyline

Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her, the story advances the theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford who penned Shakespeare's plays.

Released

2011-10-21
Revenue

$15,395,087
Budget

$30,000,000
Runtime

2hr 10m
Genre

Drama, History, Thriller
Status

Released
Language

English
6.8
Production

Centropolis Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Studio Babelsberg

Crew

Roland Emmerich

Director

John Orloff

Writer

Robert Leger

Producer

Keywords:

anonymity politics poet duringcreditsstinger false history 16th century secrecy

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Cast

Jamie Campbell Bower

Young Earl of Oxford

Rhys Ifans

Edward de Vere

David Thewlis

William Cecil

Joely Richardson

Princess Elizabeth Tudor

Vanessa Redgrave

Queen Elizabeth I

Sebastian Armesto

Ben Jonson

Rafe Spall

William Shakespeare

Edward Hogg

Robert Cecil

Xavier Samuel

Earl of Southampton

Sam Reid

Earl of Essex

Paolo De Vita

Francesco

Trystan Gravelle

Christopher Marlowe

Robert Emms

Thomas Dekker

Tony Way

Thomas Nashe

Julian Bleach

Captain Richard Pole

Derek Jacobi

Prologue

Alex Hassell

Spencer

James Garnon

John Heminge

Mark Rylance

Condell

Jasper Britton

Pope

Ned Dennehy

Interrogator

John Keogh

Philip Henslowe

Lloyd Hutchinson

Richard Burbage

Vicky Krieps

Bessie Vavasour

Helen Baxendale

Anne De Vere

Paula Schramm

Bridget De Vere

Amy Kwolek

Young Anne De Vere

Luke Thomas Taylor

Boy Earl of Oxford

Isaiah Michalski

Boy Robert Cecil

Timo Huber

Boy Earl of Southampton

Richard Durden

Archbishop

Shaun Lawton

Footman

Detlef Bothe

John De Vere

James Clyde

King James I

Christian Sengewald

Cecil's Spy Servant

Jean-Loup Fourure

Monsieur Beaulieu

Viktoria Gabrysch

Buxom Lady

Axel Sichrovsky

Essex General

Katrin Pollitt

Lady-in-Waiting

Patricia Grove

Lady-in-Waiting

Laura Lo Zito

Selling Maid

Gode Benedix

Groundling

Nic Romm

Usher

Henry Lloyd-Hughes

Bear Baiter

Patrick Diemling

Oxford's Servant

Patrick Heyn

Oxford's Doctor

Nino Sandow

Stage Manager (New York)

Craig Salisbury

Dwarf / Puck

Rainer Guldener

Quince

Trystan Pütter

Bottom

André Kaczmarczyk

Titania

Jonas Hämmerle

Child Oberon

Mike Maas

Pole's Commander

Christian Leonard

Stage Player: Shakespeare Company

Christian Banzhaf

Stage Player: Shakespeare Company

Victoria Calero

Stage Player: Shakespeare Company

Martin Engler

Stage Player: Shakespeare Company

Alfred Hartung

Stage Player: Shakespeare Company

Oliver Kube

Stage Player: Shakespeare Company

Christian Ludwig

Stage Player: Shakespeare Company

Oliver Rickenbacher

Stage Player: Shakespeare Company

Claudius von Stolzmann

Stage Player: Shakespeare Company

Tjadke Biallowons

Dancer

Dafne-Maria Fielder

Dancer

Alexander Flache

Dancer

Antonia Gerke

Dancer

Sophie Hichert

Dancer

Vera Kreyer

Dancer

Stefanie Lanius

Dancer

Urban Luig

Dancer

Jasmin Mehling

Dancer

Elisabeth Milarch

Dancer

Robert Munzinger

Dancer

Benjamin Plath

Dancer

Erik Studte

Dancer

Johann Hakob Wurster

Dancer

Steffi Sattler

First Lady to King James I (uncredited)

Videos and Photos

Movie Reviews

Reviews for Anonymous

A Review by tanty 8

Written by tanty on 2013-10-06

Good entertaining fictional historic movie. Just don't try to chew on whether the history is true or not but enjoy the plot.... read more

A Review by FilipeManuelNeto 7

Written by FilipeManuelNeto on 2023-02-16

**A film that would be much better with less sudden flashbacks, fewer anachronisms and a more careful explanation of the theory it comes to ... read more

**A film that would be much better with less sudden flashbacks, fewer anachronisms and a more careful explanation of the theory it comes to present.** I've already written a lot here, and I've said it a few times, but it's worth saying again that, although I'm a historian and I like Shakespeare's work, I'm not a native English speaker (I'm Portuguese and I speak the language of my country) nor am I an intensive or specialized connoisseur of the playwright's life and work. Therefore, I certainly won't offend anyone if I say that, until I saw this film and documented myself a little to write about it, I didn't know that there were controversies surrounding the identity of Shakespeare. It is perfectly normal that there are doubts about the authorship of some of the works of an ancient author, there are many examples. Less normal is that there are doubts surrounding the totality of his work. The film advocates the following theory: the real Shakespeare neither wrote a line nor knew how to write. Who really wrote the works, dramatic and poetic, to which he lent his name was someone who, for social and political reasons, could not do so: the Earl of Oxford, a nobleman and courtier. I'm not going to question whether this is true or false, there are people better qualified to talk about it. What I can say is that I wasn't convinced. If Oxford, for some reason, could not exhibit his literary work, how did he acquire fame as a playwright and poet? It does not make sense. Furthermore, for me, until this moment, Shakespeare was an author who did not deserve discussion. Trying to turn him into someone else's figurehead seems to me something that can only be asserted with overwhelming evidence, and not only do we not have that evidence, but the amount of historical inaccuracies and anachronistic errors that the film carries as well do not make us comfortable about the theory it presents. However, the most complicated thing about this film are not the anachronisms or the far-fetched theory that it brings us, but the flashbacks and flash forwards that occur almost without warning and make it very difficult to follow the story. I also didn't like the way the film assumes from the outset that the audience is familiar with Shakespeare's life and the Tudor period. I happen to know, but people don't have to read an English history textbook before seeing a movie. When I saw Roland Emmerich's name in the director's seat, I also feared the worst. I feared that we had something brutally destroyed or that we were witnessing some kind of disaster. Luckily, or maybe not, we only have to mourn the loss of the Globe Theatre, completely consumed by a fire. Anyone who thought he was going to be able to make a film without destroying something didn't know him. The film has excellent actors, and most of them do an impeccable job. I particularly liked Rhys Ifans and Sebastian Armesto, but Rafe Spall, David Thewlis and Joeli Richardson were also excellent in their roles. Vanessa Redgrave also does a well done job, but she had already played this role before, in another film, if I'm not mistaken. On a technical level, the film relies heavily on high-quality, well-crafted CGI, and on a selection of filming locations made with great care and discretion. On all levels, the film appears to be a major production, with some effort and investment.