Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A golden film
Shakespeare in Love is a film for anyone who loves art and literature
with a passion. Aside from being a beautiful love story, the film
itself is a "love letter" to the arts. I can only describe
it as a "golden" film, because that's what I think of when I
picture scenes from the movie...pure gold. I love Shakespeare, and
the brilliant screenplay manages to make a flesh and blood person out
of such an enigmatic historical figure - it may not be real, but it's
a lot of fun nonetheless. The acting is superb - Gwyneth Paltrow is
glorious, Judi Dench is fabulous, Geoffrey Rush is hilarious, and
Joseph Fiennes is the hottest thing to come along since his older
brother! I love the ending especially - Twelfth Night is my favorite
Shakespearean play, and the last line just speaks volumes: "For
she will be my heroine for all time, and her name will be Viola."
Perhaps the best thing about the film is the way it blends comedy and
tragedy together in such a bittersweet way. One final note: I too
was surprised that this film won Best Picture, because I also loved
Saving Private Ryan. Both films were cinematic masterpieces of very
different kinds, and both were equally worthy. I'm glad the Academy
shook things up a little.bfounded while the final credits rolled. Marc
Norman and Tom Stoppard must have loved their subject matter,
researched the period with zeal as well as having the ability to
create a moving romantic drama.
The whole thing was created
out of the barest glimmer of fact concerning Shakespeare's life. It
focuses on the gap between his marriage in London as a young man and
his eventual return to London as a successful playwright. The theory
states that "suffering is the mother of creativity", so
Young William must have had a great deal of hardship indeed. Hence,
the opportunity for a wonderful movie to be made.
A handsome
young Shakespeare is introduced to us during a black period of
writer's block. He is portrayed as any other writer we could imagine;
poor, horny, suffering from professional jealousy and not particularly
respectable. He's over-committed to two theatres and selling vaporware
for all he's worth. Poorly named vaporware at that, "Romeo and
Ethyl the Pirate's Daughter".
But fate has more in store
for this hopeful scribbler than even he would dream. Enter stage left,
the love of his life, in the guise of an actor, shyly auditioning for
a part in his new play. (Shades of Blackadder here). He is immediately
taken by this youthfull stage strutter because of a seeming preference
for Bill's work over that of the leading playwright of the day,
Christopher Marlowe.
This interest takes him to the actor's
home, where Tomas Kent transforms himself into Viola De Lesseps the
refined daughter of a wealthy merchant. This magic act is only
possible because of the artful protection offered by Viola's nurse and
part time confidant, played by Imelda Staunton. And as with Clarke
Kent, no one can penetrate the cunning disguise of Mr Thomas Kent,
except for a friendly ferryman. And it is this very ferryman that puts
William on the right path in his pursuit of the lady Viola.
And so we get the privilege of watching William Shakespeare give
birth to the Famous Romeo and Juliet as a counterpoint to his torrid
and dangerous affair with a woman betrothed to Lord Wessex; one of the
most influential and powerful men in the city. The ups and downs, ins
and outs of this relationship, and its eventual end, are all
delightful to watch as well as being grist for the mill of
Shakespeare's future plays.
For anyone that has even a passing
familiarity with the Bard's work or just likes a good romance, take
the time to enjoy this special movie. In fact, take a few times
because it gets better with every viewing.
Rating: - Shakespeare's Stage
SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE performed quite an upset, when it beat SAVING PRIVATE RYAN as best picture for 1998, at the OSCARS a few years ago. The debate continues in some circles even today, as to whether or not that win was justified, personally, I think Ryan is a better film. Having said that, Shakespeare is a good film, that I enjoyed very much. When William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) gets a bad case of writer's block, he embarks on a secret relationship with the beautiful Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow), to unclutter his mind. Once the romance begins, the words start flowing, and he begins to write again. The only problem is that she is set to marry someone else (Colin Firth). Directed with a breezy panache` by John Madden, the movie, captures the sights, sounds, and spirit of the Elizabethan period. There is great on screen chemistry between Paltrow and Fiennes. The other cast members also add to the enjoyability of the flick. Geoffrey Rush is very funny and almost steals the show. Dame Judi Dench is quite impressive in her 8 minutes of screen time as Queen Elizabeth. The script is very witty and very original. The movie sucessfully blends historical fact and fiction seamlessly. The film is accessable to everyone and not just for fans of the romantic comedy (of which I am not). The DVD is available as a movie only edition and a Collector's Series Widescreen edition. Given a choice, I prefer a fully loaded DVD, over just the movie. The highlights are the two commentaries. The first, features director Madden, the second track is with the cast and crew. There are the usual featurettes, trailers, and T.V. ads too. The film may have caused a stir with its Best Picture win, but it's still good entertainment, worth a look, and is time well spent
Rating: - Lovely, handsome and entertaining
Shakespeare in LoveScore: 87/100 In the year of 1998, Shakespeare in Love gathered 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture and proved that it wasn't only the big money-making/period pieces/war films/'human' dramas etc., but the comedies also get a special mention, and Shakespeare in Love deserves a very special mention because it is such a greatly moving film with plenty of romance and a bag full of laughs! Will Shakespeare's (Joseph Fiennes) life is going badly. His love life is a shambles, he's always short of money, and worst of all, he has writer's block. He's supposed to be nearly finished his newest play, "Romeo and Ethel the Sea Pirate's Daughter", but in fact he hasn't written a line. At a sham audition for the play, he admires a new actor, Thomas Kent, who suddenly runs away. Soon Shakespeare meets Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), who lives in the same stately home as Thomas; it's love at first sight and he's inspired to begin writing the play. But by the time he realises that Thomas is Viola in disguise, she's promised in marriage to a lord, which means that Queen Elizabeth herself expects the marriage to happen. But Will and Viola find their attraction too strong to resist; they risk the wrath of her fiancée with a clandestine affair, and of the law against women on stage by having "Thomas" play Romeo. No wonder he ends up changing the play into a tragedy... John Madden's direction is solid and his take on how Romeo and Juliet came to be one of the most romantically engaging stories of all time is portrayed with dazzling style and emotional feeling. In fact, the film may be even better than the Romeo and Juliet film, which is quite astonishing and shows the film has astounding power. The only flaw in the film is its useless swordfights which create hardly any tension and involve Ben Affleck, who is very good in this film. The other actors are also extremely impressive, Joseph Fiennes commendable turn as Shakespeare is highly entertaining to watch, Gwyneth Paltrow is a lovely romantic touch, although not half as good as Cate Blanchett, the more deserving winner for 1998's Best Actress Oscar. Not to worry, though, Paltrow is still impressive, as is Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth and Judi Dench, the movie's highlight as the argumentative and witty queen. Fabulously bold and endlessly handsome, Shakespeare in Love is a great way to spend 2 hours of your day. But just one warning, you'll be spending more than 2 hours with this film. You'll watch it so many times that the hours you spend on it may add up to as high as 102!
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