Rhys Ifans- Actor of the Week

Rhys Ifans is one of those British characters who are rather fun to watch, both in film and in life. I mean here is a man who used to be the lead singer for the Welsh pop group Super Furry Animals, was engaged to Sienna Miller and played Spike the crazy Welsh roommate in Notting Hill.  And now he has the lead role in Anonymous, playing the Earl of Oxford who, and I quote with disdain, "supposedly penned Shakespeare's plays". Whether you buy the premise of the film (and I truly hope that you do not), there is no denying the fact that Rhys Ifans is a talented actor. Weird, but talented!

Rhys Ifans as The Earl of Oxford in Anonymous

He really shows his acting chops in Anonymous. This role will finally help to erase Spike from the minds of film goers everywhere. OK, maybe not totally erase the image of Spike...in his underwear...

Rhys Ifans as the crazy Welsh roommate Spike from Notting Hill

Or perhaps Spike in the wetsuit and scuba mask eating cereal...

Rhys Ifans as Spike from Notting Hill

Shudder...he really is a good actor isn't he? Ewwww......

I also loved him in Pirate Radio (The Boat that Rocked) as Gavin, the "greatest DJ in Britain who has just returned from his drug tour of America to reclaim his rightful position". If they need an eccentric Brit, who do they call?

Rhys Ifans as Gavin from Pirate Radio

But he can also do a straight period drama role such as Dobbin in Vanity Fair...

Rhys Ifans as Dobbin in Vanity Fair

And who does Emma Thompson call when she needs a creepy, slimy uncle with gambling debts for her latest Nanny McPhee?  Why Rhys Ifans, that's who. It's hard to even imagine these are all the same people isn't it? What a chameleon!

Rhys Ifans as nasty Uncle Phil in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

And of course for the odd father of the odd Luna Lovegood in Harry Potter?  Yes, for Xenophilius Lovegood he hardly had to act at all!

Rhys Ifans as Xenophilius Lovegood from Harry Potter

So whether or not you like all of the films he has been in (and I am a fan of pretty much all of these films to a greater or lesser degree) you have to admit that this guy can act.  And I hope to see lots more of him in the future. Apparently without Sienna Miller.

Anonymous, The Film- My Review

Well, "The Squire" and I went to see Anonymous tonight.  I was very skeptical going in as I don't buy into the premise of the film, namely that all the works of William Shakespeare were actually penned by a member of the aristocracy, one Earl of Oxford. So I decided to assess it on sheer entertainment value alone.

First of all, the acting is unquestionably wonderful. I think the acting and the costumes and the CGI flyovers of the streets of London are the reason to see this film. I especially adored the CGI version of the old London Bridge with all of the shops and houses perched along it, just as it would have been in Shakespeare's day. I did not like mistakes such as the use of the double ring marriage ceremony for the Earl of Oxford and his wife Anne Cecil. You don't have to be a historian to know that men didn't wear wedding rings regularly until the early 20th century.  Ah, well...I suppose historical accuracy is unimportant to the man who directed Independence Day and 2012 (especially since this is supposed to be a revisionist history flick)!

Now if you take this story as fiction, which is what it is, (and don't let it raise your blood pressure) then you will probably enjoy it. It is certainly not one that I would want to own. It won't make your heart sing like Shakespeare in Love, which is a particular favourite of mine.  However it is a political thriller at heart and not a romance, and it does the political thriller genre quite well I thought. The story revolves around who will succeed Queen Elizabeth for the throne upon her death. Will it be the Scottish King James, or will it be one of the apparently many bastard children to whom Queen Elizabeth gave birth over her lifetime (oops, spoiler!).

So you see how the fiction factor is particularly high in this film.  Good thing too because hopefully this won't be introduced into high school curricula thus confusing the poor little things more than they already are.

Perhaps one of the good things about this film is that it will lead some of us to actually read up on  documented Elizabethan history.  I could certainly use a few more "facts" in my memory bank.  Although as Jane Austen said:

“Real solemn history, I cannot be interested in....The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or pestilences, in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all -- it is very tiresome: and yet I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention."
 Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey

So, I suppose if history is mostly invention, then we should be used to stories like this one by now. Winston Churchill said "History is written by the victors", and now it is written by the screenplay writers and directors too!

Seriously though, I liked it, but I wasn't lovin' it. A good rental perhaps?

Anonymous- Was Shakespeare a Fraud? Methinks not!

Anonymous: The Film

"Set in the political snake-pit of Elizabethan England, Anonymous speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds such as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Sigmund Freud, namely: who actually created the body of work credited to William Shakespeare? Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship of the most renowned works in English literature. Anonymous poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when scandalous political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles lusting for the power of the throne were brought to light in the most unlikely of places: the London stage."

Rhys Ifans as the Earl of Oxford who in my opinion did NOT author any Shakespearean texts

As I was researching this post in anticipation of the release of "Anonymous" in a few weeks' time, I was actually sucked in just for a moment. Just a brief moment. And then I shook my head and did some more research and I am now quite convinced that although this might make a good story, it is a work of fiction. That is a polite way of saying that this film is a bunch of bunk. But that is OK, as long as it is made clear to viewers that this is truly fiction/bunk and we should watch it for entertainment and not information.

Sam Reid as the Earl of Essex in Anonymous

I do not claim to be an English scholar, but I have now read enough to believe that there are enough contemporary accounts referencing William Shakespeare of Stratford as the author of these plays and sonnets, to discount all of the so called evidence to the contrary. Furthermore, as an educated Canadian woman who is descended from English coal miners and cotton mill workers and shoemakers, some of whom were in the workhouse during the 19th century, I find the idea that only a highly educated member of the aristocracy could have written Shakespeare's prose and poetry offensive. Poppycock and twaddle I say!

Joely Richardson as young Queen Elizabeth and Jamie Campbell Bower as young Oxford

However, as someone who adores the film Shakespeare in Love, which never purports to be anything but fiction, I am open to seeing this film and hopefully enjoying it as an Elizabethan political thriller. There are certainly a fine collection of actors in this (Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Rafe Spall, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis et al).  There are also a lot of fab costumes. And I am a total sucker for a CGI flyover of the Thames in any century that isn't the 21st!

Vanessa Redgrave as the apparently not so virginal Queen Elizabeth

So bring on the intrigue, incest and incredible distortion of the facts. I just want the eye candy!

What do you think? Shakespeare or the Earl of Oxford? See the film or pass on it? Let me know what you think.

Vanity Fair - Film vs Miniseries

Vanity Fair BBC miniseries 1998 wins!

OK, I have given it away right here at the beginning...the 1998 BBC miniseries with Natasha Little, Nathaniel Parker and Philip Glenister is hands down the winner. I am betting that although many of you likely saw the 2004 film version with Reese Witherspoon, not many of you likely saw my winner (or read the amazing novel by William Makepeace Thackaray). I never would have read the novel if it hadn't been for the miniseries with the screenplay written by my hero, Andrew Davies, and with the captivating and mesmerizing Natasha Little in the title role. Mira Nair and Reese Witherspoon did their level best, but no contest between these two versions.

Natasha Little as Becky Sharp and Frances Grey as Amelia Sedley in Vanity Fair

Natasha Little does a fantastic job of playing the woman that other women love to hate, Becky Sharp. She is gorgeous, charming, cunning and ruthlessly manipulative, which is what she needs to be to climb that difficult social ladder in 19th century London. Frances Grey is also great as the unbelievably sweet and incredibly doting Amelia. They are both exactly as they should be.

Nathaniel Parker as Rawdon Crawley in Vanity Fair

Nathaniel Parker is spot on as Becky's husband the empty headed Calvary Officer Rawdon Crawley but the one you'll really fall for in this version is Philip Glenister as Dobbin.

Philip Glenister as William Dobbin in Vanity Fair

Philip Glenister will steal your heart as the tall, ungainly and supposedly plain William Dobbin, who is loyal to George Osborne and in love with Amelia Sedley until the bitter end. Stupid, stupid Amelia. You'll want to shake her little blond head and then run off with Dobbin yourself!!!!

Vanity Fair 2004 with Reese Witherspoon

The 2004 film version directed by Mira Nair is ambitious to try to cram this wonderful novel into 141 minutes. Well....good try, but not quite. Too much plot to condense and it loses something in the process.  Not surprisingly, Mira Nair gives her version an exotic, Indian twist, which is fair enough considering that the character of Jos Sedley as a successful Nabob in India was likely part of the draw for her.  It is gorgeously filmed and a feast for the eyes, which is probably enough to get me to watch it again if only for the costumes and locations.

James Purefoy as Rawdon Crawley and Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair

I will say that James Purefoy is quite sufficiently yummy as Captain Crawley.  Mmmm, mmmm, good. Unfortunately Reese Witherspoon is a bit too likeable to really pull of the anti-heroine Becky Sharp. She is quite beautiful enough and nails the alluring, intelligent, talented part of her personality. She just doesn't make me buy the amoral, manipulative, insincere part which is really the entire point of the story.

Romola Garai as Amelia  Sedley and Rhys Ifans as William Dobbin in Vanity Fair

Romola Garai who I usually love, does her best here but has to work fast to develop her character. And although he may have done a good job here, to me Rhys Ifans will forever be the goofy roommate Spike from Notting Hill running around in his underwear.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Rhys Ifans and James Purefoy in Vanity Fair

I didn't really like Jonathan Rhys Meyers portrayal of the selfish, vain George Sedley, although maybe he played it so well that I just hated the character. Or maybe I just hated the fact that he had too much 20th century hair gel going on????

In any case, if you haven't seen the 1998 BBC miniseries then you are in for a treat. And if you, like me, bought the Reese Witherspoon version, watch it again for the visual feast. And if you are tempted to read the novel, I believe it is one of the best novels I have ever read, even if it doesn't end as happily as one might like.

By the way, thanks to Charleybrown from Enchanted Serenity of Period Films for her wonderful lists of Georgian, Regency, Victorian and Edwardian films which have reminded me of many I want to see again, and many I have yet to see.

P.S. The music score of the 1998 Natasha Little version IS a travesty. Please try to ignore it and enjoy the acting. It's really in need of re-scoring but I'm sure it would be too expensive.