Film Review: ANONYMOUS starring Jamie Campbell Bower

ANONYMOUS – starring our very own Jamie Campbell Bower

Set against the colourful backdrop of Elizabethan England, ANONYMOUS, directed by Roland Emmerich and written by John Orlaff, is less a historical thriller and more a re-imagining of history. It’s all a bit ridiculous, if you ask me, but we’ll get to that later.

The crux of the film’s concept is this: how could William Shakespeare, a man often hailed as the most remarkable poet and playwright of all time, whose own father, wife and children were illiterate, who received a less than exemplary grammar school education, be credited with such a varied and celebrated body of work? If it seems unlikely, it must not have happened, right? The film refers to a slightly insidious but increasingly popular train of academic thought that suggests that the plays and poems credited to Will were actually written by Edward de Vere, the 17^th Earl of Oxford, a man who, as a result of his noble birth and military obligations, could not be seen as a writer.

ANONYMOUS is led by a largely British cast, including Vanessa Redgrave as an aging Queen Elizabeth I, Sebastian Armesto as Ben Jonson, a distinctly average but entirely enthusiastic playwright, and Rhys Ifans and Jamie Campbell-Bower, who share the role of Edward de Vere. The notable exception is Australian Xavier Samuel, who looks damn good in a blonde wig, as the Earl of Southampton.

Anyway, I think I should point out now that I didn’t much enjoy the film. What stopped me from turning it off half-way through was – you guessed it! – Jamie’s performance. I’ve watched a bit of Camelot (more on that to come in a few weeks) and seeing him do historical dramas just doesn’t get old. Watching him play a writer, potentially the author of Romeo & Juliet, was almost too much!

His character is a womaniser, seemingly shallow but clearly more thoughtful than he appears on the surface; a little bit like pre-Clary Jace, I thought. He’s very intelligent, obviously good with words, a talented actor, and, to an extent, charmingly manipulative; again, qualities that I certainly think Jace possesses. I could go on – Edward de Vere is a natural leader and confidence and charisma oozes out of him – but the scene in which I could see traces of Jace the most had to have been Jamie’s last, when he first meets his son.

It’s the mixture of wonderment and vulnerability that you see playing across his features that really sold it for me, not least because of his perfect portrayal of a young father, barely mature enough to handle himself never mind a child, but because I was translating it to Jace in the greenhouse, in the Seelie Court, in the Wayland Manor. When you strip away the costume and the character, it was like watching Jamie rehearse one of Jace’s more serious scenes.

As I said, while I didn’t like the film, it solidified my view of Jamie’s ability. I can now say, having seen him in something decidedly unfranchise-like, with confidence, that he’ll make a brilliant Jace!

Have you guys seen ANONYMOUS? Did you enjoy it more than I did? Did you love Jamie? Is there a film one of our cast members has been in that you think I should review? Sound off in the comments!