SummaryShakespeare in Love is a romantic comedy for the 1990s set in the 1590s. It imaginatively unfolds the witty, sexy and timeless tale behind the creation of the greatest love story ever told. (Miramax Films)
SummaryShakespeare in Love is a romantic comedy for the 1990s set in the 1590s. It imaginatively unfolds the witty, sexy and timeless tale behind the creation of the greatest love story ever told. (Miramax Films)
Shakespeare in Love was a fantastic film in all departments. You cannot go wrong with the splendid locations and the wondrous costumes. The screenplay was superlative, very witty and moving, and one of the few screenplays out there that completely blew me away. The direction from John Madden was spot on, and I believe it is the same John Madden who directed some of the greatest Inspector Morse episodes, and Inspector Morse in my opinion is the best British detective drama out there. And what a talented cast, with Joseph Fiennes utterly charming and handsome as William Shakespeare, and Gwyneth Paltrow in possibly her best performance was by every means captivating as Lady Viola. Geoffrey Rush, who actually looks like the Barbossa character he created in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, was hilarious, and Colin Firth makes Lord Wessex intentionally insufferable. Simon Callow, Martin Clunes and Ben Affleck are solid in their roles, not to mention the wonderful performance of Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth I. Her end monologue was beautifully written and Dench's interpretation was flawless. I am 17, and I do hope I am not the only person who doesn't think this movie is overrated- I thought it was a brilliant film, that wholly deserved the accolades it received. 10/10 Bethany Cox
This is a love story written around the staging of Romeo & Juliet in old London town. We don't know the details about everyday life then but somethings never change. I'm sure the goings on with the money lenders, the city bureaucrats, even which actor is chosen still happens on Broadway. A rich man's daughter being married to a poor man who has a title; seen many a movie about that. But the dropping of famous Shakespearean quotes throughout the movie make this more enjoyable if you know a little. I own this DVD in my collection.
With most historical films the informed viewer scrutinizes in order to cluck at errors. (There are books full of such cluckings.) With Shakespeare in Love, the more one knows, the more one can enjoy the liberties taken. [Jan. 4, 1999]
The beauty of this extremely clever movie, directed with fleet, robust theatricality by John Madden, is how deftly it manages to work on multiple levels.
wonderful film.terribly underrated just because it's romantic comedy that won an Oscar instead of WWII epic. forget Oscars and enjoy in one of the most original and witty romantic comedies. though I wish it was less romantic and more wacky. but still the idea to use Shakespeare as a character in Shakespearean comedy makes this one the most original romantic comedies ever. Maybe Saving Private Ryan was better (it's the matter of taste, and they cannot be compared cause they are so different) but this is still one of the best Oscar winning films in the last 30 years (especially comparing to the subsequent ones).
I did have a good time watching it, but I don't think I will watch it again. Please, don't misunderstand me; it is a very nice film but there are many other movies that are as enjoyable as this one. I think a 6 is good enough for it. I am glad, however, I watched it on dvd and I didn't go to the movies to do so, otherwise my disappointment would have been great.
It's a good movie, but it won a lot of Oscars that it didn't deserve.
Taking Shakespeare and transporting it to the cinema is always an audacious gesture, I have said it in other reviews and I repeat it. Here, however, what was transposed to the canvas was the author himself. At the end of the 17th century, we followed Shakespeare's struggle to survive in the artistic and literary world. Uninspired and in need of money, he tries to write a romantic play without success. Everything changes with Lady Viola, a young aristocrat in love with the theater who does not accept that women cannot step on the stage freely, deciding to enter the new production of Shakespeare disguised as a man.
Of course, the script is entirely fictional and none of this has happened to the real bard. Despite the fact that the film is set at the right time and has some historical rigor in relation to the sets and costumes, the historical rigor ends there. The characters behave like us, in the middle of the 21st century, and reveal our mentality, not that of people four hundred years ago. In fact, the film skillfully mixes the two, so skillful that it can be dangerous and give the audience the idea that all of this was true or based on real facts from William Shakespeare's life. The film combines a good romance, the absurdity of the story told and a kind of silly humor that works well and makes the film light and pleasant. If you think about it too much, everything will fall apart, so it is better not to do it and let yourself go.
Joseph Fiennes is good for the material he was given and what he was asked for. He knows how to be romantic when he has to be and funny when he has to. Gwyneth Paltrow is beautiful and makes a good pair with him, they get good chemistry. Ben Affleck is OK, Geoffrey Rush is funny. On the negative side, Judi Dench only appears because it is necessary and will play the queen.
Now let's face it ... the film was highly awarded at the Oscars, with seven statuettes (Best Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Soundtrack, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Secondary Actress, Best Actress). But did the film deserve them? I honestly don't think so. The film is good, but not good enough to earn the highest award in the industry, especially when competing with much more serious and heavy films like "Elizabeth" or "Saving Private Ryan". Likewise, Paltrow doesn't look as good in this film as Cate Blanchet in "Elizabeth". Judy Dench almost won a career Oscar here because she doesn't even appear for ten minutes in the film. Personally, I think the film deserved only the awards for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Soundtrack and Best Costume Design. But since I wasn't the one who awarded the prizes that day ...
This movie deserves a special place in hell. On its own, it is a truly terrible movie - with boring characters and tons of whiny girly love cr&p.
The real reason why all copies of it should be burned was the fact that it beat "Saving Private Ryan" for best picture. This is the 2nd greatest outrage of all TV/Movie history next to Firefly being cancelled. SPR is possibly the best war movie of all time, and this is just some sappy made-up fantasy cr&p which does not follow the realities of the time of Shakespeare at all.
Boring, terrible, overrated - punch one of the members of the Academy if you ever meet them.
I read a lot of good critics about this movie but I can't understand what was so great about it. Story is lame, actors are not that good (I can't stand Gwyneth Paltrow). Nothing original. In one word : boring.