As a parent critic, nothing pleases me more than a film that introduces a different perspective on history and inspires the audience to run home to research what information in a film is true or not. ANONYMOUS strikes this nerve with full force. The Roland Emmerich-directed film explores the conspiracy theory that William Shakespeare did not actually write the works attributed to him. My follow-up research (full disclosure: on Wikipedia) indicates that the film weaves together historical fact and total fiction, some of which is shocking and slanderous to not only Shakespeare but Queen Elizabeth.

While the film is thought-provoking, the subject matter is romantically, politically and historically complicated. Violence may have been a fact of the day with beheadings, murders and massacres depicted. Also, the film includes some steamy, bodice-ripping, baby making scenes...oh, and be prepared to explain the definition of "incest."

However, ANONYMOUS makes Shakespeare tantalizing and provides a new angle on the Bard as well as provide the backdrop for what life in Elizabethan times may have been like -- and THAT is worth the price of admission. For 13 and up.