Cymbeline (film)
Cymbeline (also known as Anarchy) is a 2014 American film version of the play "Cymbeline" by William Shakespeare. The film is directed by Michael Almereyda and stars Ethan Hawke, Ed Harris, Dakota Johnson, Milla Jovovich and John Leguizamo. Synopsis. Based on the play "Cymbeline" by William Shakespeare, 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. Production. On July 31, 2013, it was announced that Ethan Hawke was re-teaming with director Michael Almereyda to star in the adaptation of "Cymbeline". He would play Iachimo and production was set to start on August 19 in New  York City. Anthony Katagas and Michael Benaroya would be the producers of the film. On August 5, it was announced that Ed Harris had signed to star opposite Hawke. He would play the role of King Cymbeline. Penn Badgley 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, Milla Jovovich 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 12 August included Anton Yelchin and Dakota Johnson, 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 had acquired all distribution rights to the film. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in Italy on  September 3, 2014. The film then went to screen at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea 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". The film was released in a limited release and through video on demand on March 13, 2015. Reception. On review aggregating website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 31%, based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6/10 . On Metacritic, which uses a weighted score, the film has a rating of 54 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".