"Shakespeare in Love" was one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. And I'm not saying that just because it was nominated for a zillion awards. I'm saying that because I have long been a fan of Shakespeare (the real one) and have watched just about every play and movie based on his works that I can. Shakespeare in Love (SIL) is one of the best
combinations of historical fiction and actual Shakespearean text that I've ever seen.
As a die-hard Shakespeare lover, I have to say that SIL stays true to his works while at the same time providing an interesting look at the bard's life in London prior to his rise to fame.
The movie takes place in 1593, smack dab in the middle of the plague and towards the latter part of Queen Elizabeth's reign. Will, seductively played by Joseph Fiennes (yes, he is Ralph's brother) is a struggling playwright who is not taken seriously by his peers - among them Christopher Marlowe, the writer of Dr. Faustus (he's famous, trust me).
In the film, Will says that he needs a new muse, a new source of inspiration for his work. He finds that source in Gwyneth Paltrow, a wealthy noblewoman who is, of course, engaged to be married to a snot.
Paltrow plays Viola, a woman in love with the theatre who wants to be an actor at a time when it was totally taboo for a woman to speak her mind,
much less act in public.
Needless to say, Viola and Will hook up. And this is where the movie gets good.
The screenplay was co-written by Tom Stoppard, a famous contemporary playwright known for "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead", a
faux-Shakespearian play centered around the two smallest parts in Hamlet.
In SIL, Stoppard again shows his mastery of Shakespeare by meshing Romeo & Juliet with SIL - particularly in the love scenes. Nothing gets a woman hotter than a smart, Shakespeare quoting man. So gentlemen of Radford, if you want to impress your honeys, DO try this at home!
The love scenes between Will and Viola were to die for. And the way the director paired Will and Viola quoting Romeo & Juliet in bed with scenes
of the players rehearsing the play was really stunning. And both Joseph and Gwyneth are incredibly beautiful so when they are together you really can't tell who to look at.
Overall, SIL is a must see for anyone who is familiar with Shakespeare's works and wants to try to pick up on all the little inside English
professor jokes, or for anyone who's been dying to see Gwyneth Paltrow's boobies, or for anyone who wants to see how hot Ben Affleck looks in
period costume.
Seriously, though, SIL is a great film that should make everyone want to re-examine Shakespeare's plays. I know the text of the plays is sometimes
hard to understand, but get together with a few friends and try reading the stuff out loud. If you've got a copy with some good footnotes, you'll
really get a good grasp of what Shakespeare is all about.
And guys, I'm telling you - buy your girlfriend a copy of Romeo & Juliet and offer to read it with her. She'll be yours forever. Promise.
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