Shakespeare In Love

And he had plenty of time to be that way, due to a gigantic writer's block. This playful, good-looking young Mr. S (Joseph Fiennes, who certainly doesn't resemble any of the more famous representations that history has left behind) is busy bedding any mistress who turns his whimsy whenever he's not putting down pints in the local where he can also pump the equally attractive and seemingly more prolific Kit Marlowe for an interesting idea or plot, here or there. All this takes place while (whilst?) he is in the midst of working (or at least trying to work) on his latest piece, titled "Romeo and Ethyl, the Pirate's Daughter." Nevertheless, he continues suffering from writer's block and can't seen to shake it. What he needs is a muse, and she finally appears in the form of Lady Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow). Once fiery love begins to consume the star-crossed lovers, Will discovers that his quill flows more freely than ever before. Lots of other interesting things happen around them, too. Where would we be without sub-plots?

Shakespeare In Love:
© Universal Pictures International
© Miramax Films

And talk about gender-bending, we all know how big the Bard was on that kind of thing. We are not restricted to the usual gender-bending of that time found in the Elizabethan casting rules and regulations. Here, to top it off, is our "dark lady" portraying a man to act on the stage in the role of a lady in the play written by the playwright whose work she adores and whom she is beginning to have a relationship with as a woman. Confused? You won't be, if you see the movie.

Scriptwriter Marc Norman ("Mrs. Brown") came up with the idea and was joined by the talented Tom Stoppard (shades of "Rozenkrantz and Guildenstern are Dead") in writing a cleverly devised and wonderfully entertaining screenplay which should enthrall all those with or without a working knowledge of Shakespeare's life and plays (especially "Romeo and Juliet" and "Twelfth Night"). Accessible to everyone with a joyous heart and a love of human nature. No elitism or snobbishness here; just good old-fashioned fun. Placed in the Elizabethan period, the antics manage to feel awfully contemporary. While calling up an exhilarating portrait of the times, it manages to make the viewer feel uplifted.

Shakespeare In Love:
© Universal Pictures International
© Miramax Films

Director John Madden, upon reading it, felt it had "one foot in the 16th century and one in the 20th century." Immensely attracted by it, he says, "The first thing I got out of the script was its sense of fun; it is full of surprises, topping one surprise with another. There's something terribly attractive about taking this great world figure and dealing with him mischievously and playfully."

Fiennes and Paltrow are well matched in their roles and supported by the best cast one could imagine in the persons of Geoffrey Rush (Henslowe), Colin Firth (the Earl of Wessex), Tom Wilkinson (Fennyman), Ben Affleck (Ned Alleyn), Jim Carter (Ralph Bashford), Simon Callow (Tilney), Marin Clunes (Burbage), Imelda Staunton (the Nurse), and the inimitable Judi Dench (as Queen Elizabeth I). The eyes of the viewer are bombarded deliciously by the work not only of DP Richard Greatrex, but production designer Martin Childs, costume designer Sandy Powel, hair and make-up designer Lisa Westcott. These in turn assisted by composer Stephen Warbeck' and editor David Gamble. Cut!

There still remains, of course, vast confusion about the details of Shakespeare's life. In short, this means that many things can be said about the Bard (especially during the period between 1585 and 1592) and no one really knows whether they're true or not. Discussions have often been held about the (now famous) "dark lady" of the sonnets and it is through this movie that we get to know her (or, at least, one supposition of who and what she might have been, if she "was" at all.) The London that Shakespeare lived in was hustling and bustling and considered to be as modern then as many consider it today. Theatre was quite popular at the time and the original theatre he worked in was located near the river bank, looking very similar to the one that exists there today. (Thank you, Sam.)

A MUST SEE.

At least, that is, if you want to have a wonderful time. If you're attached, bring your partner. If you're detached, take yourself.