Anonymous has now debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, and despite expectations to the contrary, initial reactions seem to be that, far from being a disaster movie of the unintended kind, the film is rather, well, good. MovieLine calls it "at the very least, a curiosity, one with some clever casting and a very fine performance at its core", while according to George Prentice in BoiseWeekly, "you can literally count up the Oscar nominations as the movie progresses—it gets better with each passing minute".
InContention.com's Kristopher Tapley was equally, if unexpectedly, approving: "the film is an elaborate piece of work (from an engaging screenplay by John Orloff), dense but rewarding, smart but entertaining, and Emmerich pulls it off without a hitch."
It remains to be seen whether the length and complexity of the film will limit the audience, but if these reactions are anything to go by it's not what the Orthodoxy want to hear. The last thing Stratford needs is a film that is watchable, even critically successful, especially from a director with a predominantly young fan base. Imagine all those English teachers having to answer awkward questions, or tour guides at the Birth Place: "You have no proof he ever entered this building? Is there a discount for that?"
It must be a worry that the Stratford tourist economy is based on so many half-truths and outright falsehoods, even before you get to the authorship debate. The question is: would the Birthplace Trust sue Sony Pictures for damaging their brand, and if they did, who would win?
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