''Cymbeline'' (also known as ''Anarchy'') is a 2014 American

crime thriller film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but al ...

written, produced, and directed by

Michael Almereyda Michael Almereyda (born April 7, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He studied art history at Harvard University but dropped out after three years to pursue filmmaking. He acquired a Hollywood agent on the strengt ...

, based on the play of the same name by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. The film stars

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor, author, and film director. He made his film debut in ''Explorers (film), Explorers'' (1985), before making a breakthrough performance in ''Dead Poets Society'' (1989). Hawke starr ...

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in '' Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Awa ...

Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; ; ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovovich (), is an American actress and former fashion model. Her starring roles in numerous science fiction film, science-fiction and action films led th ...

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (, ; ; born July 22, 1960 or 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and film producer. He has appeared in more than 100 films, produced more than 20 films and documentaries, made more than 30 televisio ...

, and

Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. Her accolades include an Independent Spirit Award and a nomination for a British Academy Film Award. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, Johnson made her ...

Synopsis

Based on the play ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' (), also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concer ...

'' by

, the story revolves around a war between dirty cops and a biker gang. The king of the bikers has lost his sons and needs his daughter to marry royalty to maintain the bloodline. The new Queen wishes to kill the king and her step-daughter in order to install her own son as the new gang leader. The step-daughter has married a penniless gang member, who is banished from the gang territory by the King. The banished son-in-law is tricked into believing that his wife is unfaithful through a photograph taken while she was sleeping. These many intertwined players will travel through desperate straits before all is resolved.

Cast

as Iachimo, who bets that he can seduce Posthumus' chaste Imogen *

, King of the Briton Motorcycle Club *

as Queen, second wife of the King, who wants to cement her power by having Cloten marry Imogen *

as Pisanio, Cymbeline's right hand man, tricked by the Queen into delivering (imagined) poison to Imogen *

Penn Badgley Penn Dayton Badgley (born November 1, 1986) is an American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Dan Humphrey in The CW teen drama series ''Gossip Girl'' (2007–2012) and Joe Goldberg in the Netflix psychological thriller series ''Y ...

as Posthumus, penniless amour, then secret husband, of Imogen. Plans to kill her after he is deceived by Iachimo. *

as Imogen, daughter of Cymbeline, calls herself Fidel while later traveling disguised as a boy when searching for her banished love * Anton Yelchin as Cloten, son of the Queen *

Peter Gerety Peter Gerety is an American actor. He played officer, later detective, Stuart Gharty on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1996–1999), and Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). Early years Gerety was born in Providence, Rhode I ...

as Dr. Cornelius, who undermines the Queen’s plans to kill Cymbeline and Imogen by giving her sleeping pills instead of poison. *

Kevin Corrigan Kevin Corrigan (born March 27, 1969) is an American character actor. He has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s, including as Uncle Eddie on the sitcom '' Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005). His film appearances i ...

as The Hangman *

Vondie Curtis-Hall Vondie Curtis-Hall (born September 30, 1950) is an American actor, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama '' Chicago Hope'' created by David E. Kelley and as ...

as Caius Lucius, Chief of the Rome Police Department * James Ransone as Philario, who befriends the banished Posthumus *

Bill Pullman William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting. Pullman made his film debut i ...

as Sicilius Leonatus, Posthumus' father * Delroy Lindo as Belarius, who kidnapped and lovingly raised Cymbeline‘s two sons,

Guiderius Guiderius ( Welsh Gwydr or Gwydyr) is a legendary British king according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (''History of the Kings of Britain'') and related texts. He can probably be identified as deriving from the historical ...

and

Arvirargus Arvirargus or Arviragus was a legendary British king of the 1st century AD, possibly based upon a real person. A shadowy historical Arviragus is known only from a cryptic reference in a satirical poem by Juvenal, in which a giant turbot presented t ...

, as his own *

Spencer Treat Clark Spencer Treat Clark (born September 24, 1987) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his roles in the 2000 films ''Gladiator'' and '' Unbreakable''. He has since appeared in the films '' Mystic River'' (2003), '' The Last House on the ...

as Guiderius, a (unaware) prince

Production

On July 31, 2013, it was announced that

was re-teaming with director

to star in the adaptation of ''

''. He would play Iachimo and production was set to start on August 19 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Anthony Katagas and Michael Benaroya would be the producers of the film. On August 5, it was announced that

had signed to star opposite Hawke. He would play the role of King Cymbeline.

joined the cast in the adaptation of ''Cymbeline'' to play the role of orphan Posthumus who secretly marries the daughter of King Cymbeline and is banished by the monarch who raised Posthumus as a son. On August 8, 2013,

also joined the cast as a female lead; she would play the role of Queen who schemes to move her own son from a previous marriage onto the throne at the expense of the orphan Posthumus and the King’s daughter. Additional cast members added on August 12 included Anton Yelchin and

, Yelchin would play Cloten, the son of the Queen by a former husband and Johnson would be playing the role of Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline from a previous marriage.

Release

Prior to the world premiere of the film, it was announced

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

had acquired all distribution rights to the film. The film had its world premiere at the 71st Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2014. The film then went to screen at the

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF; ), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held fro ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

on October 3, 2014. For a short time, the film's U.S. title was ''Anarchy'', but it was changed back to ''Cymbeline'', though in some markets it is known as ''Anarchy: Ride or Die'' to avoid confusion with ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American Action film, action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX (TV channel), FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008, to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-k ...

''. The film was released in select theaters and through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

on March 14, 2015.

Reception

On review aggregating website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has a score of 32%, based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a weighted score, the film has a rating of 54 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

References

External links

* * {{Michael Almereyda 2014 films 2014 crime thriller films 2014 independent films 2010s American films 2010s English-language films American crime thriller films American films about revenge American films based on plays American independent films American police detective films Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Films about drugs Films about the New York City Police Department Films based on works by William Shakespeare Films directed by Michael Almereyda Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City Lionsgate films Modern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare Outlaw biker films Works based on Cymbeline English-language independent films English-language crime thriller films