A REVIEW OF "SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE"
by Ryan Ellis
give me a buzz on the ol' e-lines, iluvmick@hotmail.com
As 1998 coasted along for approximately ten or eleven months with an abominable slew of pathetic releases, it seemed that we were going to hit a new year-long low in American cinema. However, movie executives seem to think that the Oscar voters have short memories, so they cram a theatre-full of good movies into November and December. A film like "Shakespeare In Love" was worth waiting for. Almost all by itself, it can dispel the notion that 1998 was a bad year. With a sizzling total of 13 Oscar nominations, this fine piece of work has been getting heaps of critical acclaim and deserves every bit of it. The complete antithesis of "Saving Private Ryan"--its chief rival for many of the major awards in March--"Shakespeare In Love" is funny, rousing, romantic, lyrical, and intelligent. (I'll save any further gushing for later--no sense in using up all my good adjectives so soon into the review). The plot is simply within the name of the film--the legendary William Shakespeare falls in love. Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is penning his latest play, a comedy called "Romeo and Ethel The Pirate's Daughter". His eventual love-interest, Viola (Gwyenth Paltrow in an Oscar-nominated performance), is about to get stuck in one of those prearranged marriages that we all love to hate in the movies. Shakespeare mopes around writing his sub-par play and casting a bunch of hilariously lousy actors to fill the roles, while Viola knows his work, loves it, and wants to play Romeo. Now, don't forget that back in the days of The Bard, women were not allowed on the stage. To get a fair opportunity, the gifted young woman masquerades as a boy in order to land the lead role. Naturally, she is such a good actress that she deceives everyone for a little while. That is, until Shakespeare confesses his devout love for the real version (the female version) of Viola (whom he had seen earlier at an upper-class function) to her moustachioed male alter ego. Despite a marriage he doesn't confess to and that prearranged marriage she's stuck in, the two kids fall completely in love. She inspires him to write the play that we all know as the tragic masterpiece, "Romeo And Juliet", and she captivates everyone with her acting ability. Of course, she is eventually exposed as a woman and all proverbial heck breaks loose. To say much more about the plot would ruin it for someone who hasn't had the good fortune to see the film. The plot DOES deserve plenty of kudos though, just as every other feature in the picture does. Director John Madden (a great name, but not the football dude) combines so many elements of technical, musical, and acting brilliance that it's too bad that it all must come to an end. This is a rare movie about English people who didn't make me want to retch and throw things at the screen. When it was over, I wanted to go out and rent a copy, any copy, of Romeo and Juliet! It's THAT inspiring. Paltrow and Fiennes are absolutely spectacular together. They burn up the screen. We see their forbidden love grow in the same way that the love between Romeo and Juliet grows. Paltrow is even more impressive when you consider that she is 100% American, yet speaks with a fine English accent. Some terrific editing sequences parallel the film's story with the story-within-the-story and the triumphant score is infectious. But this picture never takes itself too seriously. It pokes fun at its characters and makes inside jokes about how Shakespeare took inspiration from other people when writing his plays. Also, this movie is laugh-out-loud funny at times, snickeringly silly at others. When we get to the appropriate ending, the only complaint is, "I truly enjoyed that. Why isn't there more?" The wonderful performances of Paltrow, Geoffrey Rush, and Judi Dench are all nominated for Oscars (Rush and Dench in supporting performances), but Fiennes (Ralph's little brother) was snubbed. It's too bad too because this could have been the first film to win 4 acting awards in the history of the Academy Awards. "Shakespeare In Love" has 10 other nominations to brag about, from music score to cinematography to costume design. Simply put, it's worthy of each any every one of them. "Saving Private Ryan" is still probably the best film of '98, but it has some fierce competition. "Shakespeare In Love" is glorious and fun. It's going to be "flip a coin" time on Oscar Night for Best Picture between these two lead horses. Whichever side the coin lands will be fine with me. It's war versus love and maybe love CAN conquer all--even Steven Spielberg!
USELESS TRIVIA--If this film wins in each of the 3 acting categories for which it's nominated, it would be the first to win 3 Oscars for acting in 22 years (Network, 1976).
This film receives a 10/10.
THE RYAN RATING SYSTEM SAYS... 10/10--absolutely outstanding 9/10--excellent 8/10--pretty darn good 7/10--sure, go on and give it a peek 6/10--so-so; ye ol' recommendation point 5/10--not quite worth the dollars 4/10--only if you have a free pass 3/10--don't go, PLEASE don't go 2/10--avoid even if you DO have a free pass 1/10--"Showgirls" territory; truly crappy 0/10--bang your head off a wall instead
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