Emmerich attempts to break into the prestige picture business, but is still up to old tricks. Anonymous is too briskly edited and overly structured to work as a compelling period piece. It's clear he thinks this is another Hollywood blockbuster, following his tired formula.
The core ideas about Shakespeare himself are convoluted and sometimes insulting reduce historical figures to caricature. King James is briefly shown in the finale as a fashion-obsessed, theater-loving queen. All this reduction eventually makes Anonymous into something that's pushy, joyless, and as far from the Bard as is imaginable.
Vanessa Redgrave's Elizabeth I is a particularly odd duck. Considering she witnessed Glenda Jackson acting the heck out of the role in Mary, Queen of Scots, it's not surprising Redgrave took another direction. Instead of the raging royal we're used to seeing portrayed, her Elizabeth I is neutered and senile. It's an odd choice, to be sure, and one that ultimately doesn't work. There's some interesting physicality in the performance, but it's perhaps the weakest she's ever given.
Her daughter Joely Richardson plays a younger Elizabeth I. All of these flashback scenes are all for naught, really. They're structured hideously and the young actors are weak imitations of their elders.
The costumes and sets are so-so, but it's almost astonishing how instantly forgettable this is. Attempts at romance and mawkish drama fail.
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