Anonymous

High on the list of the most giddily inane projects ever to come down the cinema lane is Roland Emmerich’s overheated, simple-minded and absolutely preposterous yarn that purports to dish the dirt on how William Shakespeare (played by Rafe Spall as a horny, talentless illiterate) didn’t really write all those plays. No, indeedy. According to the movie, it was the doing of Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), who had to do it all anonymously rather than disgrace the title by lowering himself to the status of a (gasp) writer. And even more so, you see, because he was using the plays to attack his political opponents. Yes, there is in fact a group of folks—called “Oxfordians”—who subscribe to this theory. They do not, however, subscribe to Emmerich’s hysterically over-the-top take on the idea. It’s hard to blame them. However, approached in the right frame—which is to say, in the full knowledge that this is all pure twaddle—the film is still a good deal of over-stuffed, overheated, over-produced fun. For my original review go to: http://www.mountainx.com/movies/review/anonymous

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Anonymous at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 22, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.