"Anonymous" was on the Ovation channel this afternoon, and it was a beauty to watch. I'd call it an alternative reality fantasy, though I know some people believe that Edward De Vere did write Shakespeare's plays and that Queen Elizabeth did have a child or two who were shunted off to well-connected adoptive parents. Derek Jacobi, as the bookend emcee, and Vanessa Redgrave, as the older queen, were the only actors I recognized, though when I looked it up on IMDb there were several familiar names. But the scenery was enthralling, both interiors and exteriors--the Globe Theatre, the candle-lit palaces, the skyline and streets of sixteenth-century London. I must admit that the shifts in time and the many bearded faces in semidarkness made it a little hard to follow at times--and Ovation's constant commercial interruptions didn't help. But it was quite interesting, and I'd watch it again--preferably on PBS, where they might slap those annoying promo ads on the screen every ten minutes, but at least there are no commercials.

[i] " It's almost shocking how cruel and callous the aunt and the religious schoolmaster are."

Charlotte Brontë who was an excellent author, and wrote about the cruel and callous aunt and religious schoolmaster with very much reality in those times.