Documentary Film Seeks to Uncover the Truth About “Shakespeare”
September 16, 2013 — Last Will. & Testament explores one of the greatest literary mysteries of all time: Who wrote the works of William Shakespeare? Although the official story of a Stratford-upon-Avon merchant writing for the London box office has held sway for centuries, questions about the authorship of the plays and poems have persisted. Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, Charlie Chaplin, and Orson Welles are among the many famous figures who have doubted that the Stratford man was England’s “Star of Poets.” Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship. Sir Derek Jacobi leads a cast featuring several award-winning actors, including Vanessa Redgrave and Sir Mark Rylance, on a quest to uncover the truth behind the elusive author. The film discovers a forgotten nobleman whose story could rewrite history.
Last Will. & Testament, released in 2012 by executive producer Roland Emmerich and debut directors Lisa Wilson and Laura Wilson Matthias, runs 85 minutes. It is available on DVD from Amazon and PBS Home Video. Alan Austin, who hosted the classic 1989 PBS Frontline documentary, The Shakespeare Mystery (available here on YouTube), said: “Last Will. & Testament is the most beautiful, eloquent, and almost mesmerizing film I have seen on this great subject: Who was Shakespeare? Not only is their case overwhelming, it’s easy to follow and impossible to refute.”
The first part of the film explores the traditional story of Shakspere of Stratford and the longstanding views in academia. Sir Stanley Wells and Sir Jonathan Bate defend the orthodox position, while Professor Roger Stritmatter, Professor William Leahy, Diana Price, Charles Beauclerk, and actors Jacobi, Rylance, and Redgrave expose the evidence that has fueled doubt for centuries.
The second part is a testament to an alternative Shakespeare — one presented to the world in the literary works themselves and in the testimony of his most insightful doubters. Through a series of interviews with scholars currently working in the field, the film fashions a profile of the elusive poet. During the last century, a field of dozens of candidates for authorship has narrowed, with Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, and group authorship theories centered on Oxford, becoming the most popular alternatives. A portion of Last Will. & Testament explores the life and literary career of this forgotten nobleman. A very human author emerges: a real-life Hamlet whose tragic experiences provided the raw material for the Shakespeare canon.
The final portion of the film weaves together the major historical events of the late Tudor era, including the crisis of succession and the Essex Rebellion. The power politics of the Elizabethan Age and the towering figure of Queen Elizabeth herself are addressed by the film’s commentators, who seek to connect Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets to the turbulent world of the royal court. By the end of the film, viewers will be challenged to explore the many unresolved historical, political, and artistic issues that lie at the heart of the mystery of who wrote the works of “Shakespeare.”
[published Sept. 16, 2013, updated 2021]
