SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
A movie review by Joe Barlow
(c) Copyright 1999
STARRING: Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck,
Geoffrey Rush, Rupert Everett
DIRECTOR: John Madden
WRITERS: Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
RATED: R
RELEASED: 1998
RATING: *** 1/2 (out of a possible ****)
A theater life has always been one full of doubt and uncertainty, but never more so than in 16th century London. In addition to the formidible task of merely turning a profit, one also had to contend with the Plague, unsanitary working conditions, and rival theater owners engaged in a cut-throat war to steal each other's customers-- hardly the easiest way to make a living.
But for a young playwrite named William Shakespeare, the situation is even more dire: lacking romantic inspiration in his life, he has developed a stubborn case of writer's block. "I fear I've lost my muse," he explains to a local theater owner. ("Oh? Who is she this week?" he queries.)
Poor Will, it seems, has been living a rather lonely existence. Without a soulmate to spark his imagination, he is finding it difficult to write anything other than cliched rubbish, including his current project, a lackluster comedy entitled "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter." He explains his frustration to his therapist:
WILL: "Once I had the gift. I could make love out
of words as a potter makes cups of clay.
Love that overthrows empires; love that binds
two hearts together, come hell, fire and
brimstone. For sixpence a line, I could
cause a riot in a nunnery! But now..."
But now his inspiration has dried up, leaving him to simply go through the motions. This doesn't bode well for Mr. Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush), the theater manager who has pre-paid Will for delivery of the (very) overdue manuscript. Unless Will completes the play quickly, the financially- strapped theater will have no new offering for the public, and could be driven out of business. Everyone's expecting a new masterpiece to flow forth from Will's pen, and the playwrite is frantic over his inability to provide it for them.
Shakespeare isn't the only one having difficulties, however. Across town, the lovely Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) is lamenting twin hardships of her own: a pending loveless marriage, arranged by her father for purely financial means, and the realization that her dream of being an actor cannot come to pass, as women are banned from the London stage. ("Stage love will never be true love while the law of the land has our heroines being played by pip-squeak boys in petticoats!" she frets to her nurse.) Reflecting upon the various suitors her father has selected for her, Viola decries their cold, unartistic nature:
VIOLA: "All the men at court are without poetry. If
they see me, they see my father's fortune.
I will have poetry in my life, and adventure.
And love... love, above all."
Unwilling to accept her forced destiny, she hatches a brilliant, desperate scheme to change her situation.
Shortly thereafter, Shakespeare finds his spirits lifted by the arrival of a talented new actor at the theater, a lad named Thomas Kent. The young man has a remarkable talent for delivering Will's dialogue; much impressed, the writer casts Thomas as Romeo in the still unfinished play. Ah, but there's a twist: Thomas is actually Viola in disguise, and it doesn't take long for the clever Will to figure it out.
Their relationship soon turns amorous, and Will, astonished at the passion this remarkable woman inspires within him, is soon filling sheets of parchment as quickly as his pen can fly over them. Channeling all his emotions and desire into his writing, the manuscript comes alive with poetry and metaphor; as the incomplete play goes into rehearsal (with Will bringing in new pages daily), everyone praises the work's boldness and originality. The only thing that doesn't appear to be working is the play's title; "Romeo and Ethel" somehow lacks the passion that the material requires. A brash young actor named Ned Alleyn (Ben Affleck), however, comes to the rescue: "Will, why not 'Romeo and Juliet?' Just a suggestion."
"Shakespeare in Love" may be the most original film I've seen in the past year. Poetic dialogue drips like honey from the mouths of the actors, which simultaneously embraces and satirizes the Bard's work. The story can be appreciated on mulitple levels, thanks to a brilliant screenplay (which was co-penned by Tom Stoppard, the playwrite who gave us "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead," another Shakespearean spoof). Those who are not overly familiar with Shakespeare's plays can still get caught up in the story, while the rest of us will enjoy an extra layer of subtle humor (Will stealing ideas from playwrite Christopher Marlowe (Rupert Everett), or the wonderful scene in which Will overhears someone saying "The rose smells thusly rank by any name. I say, a plague on both their houses!" and twists these words into two of his most famous quotes). Don't forget the delicious irony of the female Viola pretending to be a young man in the role of Romeo... while "Juliet" is played by a male, pretending to be female. This is the rare movie that actually gets better with multiple viewings, giving the audience a chance to see what they missed earlier.
There's not a bad performance in the entire film. Joseph Fiennes is a masterful Shakespeare, conveying both the dramatic and humorous moments with a light touch, never going over the top; likewise, Gwyneth Paltrow is a marvel in her dual role as Viola/Thomas. But the show is positively stolen by Ben Affleck's brief performance as Ned, the spoiled young actor who attempts to usurp the limelight away from Will with his arrogant self-importance. (Observe how Will tricks him into accepting the much smaller role of Mercutio by appealing to Ned's ego, and how Ned smirks before announcing, "I would play him." It was one of many laugh-out-loud moments for me.)
"Shakespeare in Love" is a vibrant piece of satire, capturing the tone and eloquence of Shakespeare's beloved masterpiece while simultaneously turning it upside-down. Full of wit, humor, and passion, this film reminds us of the gift and curse of true love. I imagine that a sophisticated verbal comedy about William Shakespeare's love-life won't appeal to everyone, but if you like movies which deviate from the beaten path, you'll have a marvelous time. You might actually learn something, though; consider yourself warned.
E-Mail: jbarlow@earthling.net Joe Barlow on Film: http://www.ipass.net/~jbarlow/film.htm
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