Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012) is stepping back from destroying Earth with his latest film, Anonymous. Here, he creates a film set during the Elizabethan era and explores the conspiracy theory on whether or not William Shakespeare really did write all his plays. According to this theory, the person responsible for his famed work was Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford.
The second trailer for the period piece drama was unveiled today. Personally, as a fan of Shakespeare, I don’t see this doing very well. Even though Emmerich is well known for creating massively budgeted, summer blockbuster films, he has done period pieces before (The Patriot, 10,000 B.C.). While he does sort of know how to create a film without big tidal waves or creatures looking to destroy the earth, this material doesn’t really seem like his thing.
If anything, Anonymous does have a very good cast, including Vanessa Redgrave, Rhys Ifans, David Thewlis and Rafe Spall. The costumes look great as well. But the use of Radiohead in the trailer for a period piece film just doesn’t seem fitting. It’s almost like Emmerich is trying to appeal to a generation of non-Shakespeare fans and non-period piece fans.
Anonymous will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival before making its nationwide debut on October 28th. Check out the trailer below.
