SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE by DeWyNGaLe * * * 1 / 2
In the new comedy/drama Shakespeare In Love, you can already tell that it is going to be excellent. Judi Dench has been nominated for an Academy Award, Ben Affleck and Geoffrey Rush have won Academy Awards, and Gwyneth Paltrow is certainly on her way to at least an Oscar nomination with this film. Shakespeare In Love tells the story of William Shakespeare and what inspired him to write one of the most popular pieces of writing of all time, "Romeo and Juliet." It is nice to see a film with a plot revolving around Shakespeare himself, rather than another one of his pieces of work. For the first time in awhile, I have seen a period film that wasn't long and drug out. Shakespeare In Love kept my interest and not for one second was my attention directed somewhere else.
Joseph Finnes plays William Shakespeare, poet and writer in the times of the 1500s. When Phillip Henslowe, played by Geoffrey Rush, asks Will to write a play for him so it can be performed, he has a lot of trouble thinking of ideas. He believes he has something that many authors get, called writers' block. He starts to write a story called "Romeo and Ethel The Pirate's Daughter." He only has the title so far, but starts to get ideas when he spots a woman whom he finds extremely attractive, and he thinks something is very special about her. He just stares when he first sees her, and does not make eye contact. He writes Act One of his play and it is about the way Romeo felt about a woman he saw that day. He meets this lady after a period of time, and discovers that she is Viola De Lesseps, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. They get along wonderfully and start to fall in love. Viola becomes a fan of Will's work, and desperately wants to be a part of "Romeo and Ethel The Pirate's Daughter." Knowing that girls cannot act in the theater, she dresses up as a boy and rehearses for the part of Romeo. She wins the part, but little does she know that Will knows that she is Viola, not "Thomas Kent", the name she has been going by.
He proceeds anyway, not telling anyone that Viola is actually playing the part of Romeo in his play. As Will and Viola fall in love, a problem arises. Viola is informed that her duty is to marry Lord Wessex, played by Colin Firth. She is devastated that she cannot be with Will any longer. Queen Elizabeth, played by Judi Dench, wishes to meet and approve of Viola before she and Lord Wessex wed. She doesn't seem to like Viola, and makes a fool of her in front of all of the people. Will adds up all the events he goes through with Viola, and continues writing "Romeo and Ethel The Pirate's Daughter." Many people, especially Henslowe are becoming excited about Will's latest script. Unfortunately, Viola still has to marry Lord Wessex. Queen Elizabeth informs Viola that she must move to Virginia with Wessex, and leave Will behind. Although she is extremely reluctant to do so, she has to.
Ben Affleck plays Ned, an actor in "Romeo And Ethel The Pirate's Daughter." He gives Will the idea of simply calling his story "Romeo and Juliet." This is where the classic title comes from. Will and Viola write more of the story together, helping each other with ideas. They come up with the classic ending, where Romeo and Juliet die together. The actors continue to work harder and harder and when show time comes, Will becomes Romeo. They are ready to perform this wonderful story, but there is one major problem. There is no one to play Juliet. Viola hears the news and rushes to the stage to play Juliet. The performance goes great, and the crowd absolutely loves the show. A standing ovation is given, and Will and Viola are extremely happy. Though many problems occurred through the writing of "Romeo and Juliet", Viola and Will stayed together, and really became the characters of Romeo and Juliet. Everyone in the town loved the performance, even Queen Elizabeth.
The cast and characters in Shakespeare In Love had some of the best costumes I have ever seen in a movie. The outfits were so real looking, and they didn't look ridiculous or inaccurate. The town, the theater, the castle, and all the other places in the film were extremely real to life and you really felt like you were there. Most period movies have a hard time showing what the place actually looked like. The theater in particular was impressive. It didn't look the least bit new. You could tell that a lot of time and effort was put into making Shakespeare In Love look good, sound good, and be good.
The acting in Shakespeare In Love is superb. Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Ben Affleck, and Geoffrey Rush should all be nominated for an Oscar. Gwyneth Paltrow adds another great performance to her great year in the movies. Joseph Fiennes proves he isn't the only brother capable of being a great actor. Judi Dench just proves to us some more that she is a great actress who can play any roll with great talent. Ben Affleck shows he can play more than a hero, or a joker, and that he can do a good job of acting in a serious roll. Geoffrey Rush shows us that he is becoming one of the best actors around. Shine and Shakespeare In Love are two of my favorite movies ever, and he was a part of them both. Shakespeare In Love didn't have many problems, except for some poorly acted places here and there. The acting was the best thing about the movie, and it brought out the best of it. The plot was also a great thing. It is very interesting to see the man behind all these great pieces of work, instead of his actual work for the hundredth time. Overall, Shakespeare In Love is a pure winner.
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