Metacritic Movie Ratings
Anonymous Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 88

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert

  Because of the ingenious screenplay by John Orloff, precise direction by Roland Emmerich and the casting of memorable British actors, you can walk into the theater as a blank slate, follow and enjoy the story, and leave convinced - if of nothing else - that Shakespeare was a figure of compelling interest.

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• 80

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt

  The film grabs at historical facts, mangles them into a plot worthy of a John le Carré spy novel and takes the viewer on a breathtaking ride through ye olde London.

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• 70

  out of 100

  VarietyRobert Koehler

  The film as a whole isn't quite as interesting, though it is noteworthy that action specialist Emmerich has clearly decided to change course here from anything he's previously made. Although this is primarily a writer's film, with John Orloff's screenplay (and dialogue) placed front and center, Anonymous surprises with how classical, staid and traditional Emmerich's mise-en-scene is, never straying from tried-and-true costumer standards.

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• 70

  out of 100

  Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey

  William Shakespeare - whoever he was - I think would probably be at least a little amused by Anonymous. For amusing it is - along with bawdy, brazen, politically outrageous, plausible enough and occasionally graced with something close to Shakespearean cleverness in an absurdist sort of way.

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• 63

  out of 100

  USA TodayClaudia Puig

  Ifans is convincingly world-weary as the earl who prefers writing sonnets to the pageantry of court life. Anonymous aims to be epic but is closer to stately soap opera.

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• 50

  out of 100

  The New York TimesA.O. Scott

  Anonymous is a vulgar prank on the English literary tradition, a travesty of British history and a brutal insult to the human imagination. Apart from that, it's not bad.

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• 50

  out of 100

  The New YorkerDavid Denby

  The Oxford theory is ridiculous, yet the filmmakers go all the way with it, producing endless scenes of indecipherable court intrigue in dark, smoky rooms, and a fashion show of ruffs, farthingales, and halberds. The more far-fetched the idea, it seems, the more strenuous the effort to pass it off as authentic.

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• 42

  out of 100

  Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum

  Thumpingly silly yet self-serious period-piece what-if.

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• 30

  out of 100

  Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern

  In a movie that rings false at every turn, Ms. Redgrave's Elizabeth is truly and infallibly regal.

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