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Review by Susan Granger
4 stars out of 4
At last, a juicy, funny, romantic comedy - aimed at adults!
Cleverly written by Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard and brilliantly
directed by John Madden, this charming story, set in 1594, introduces
Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) as a young English playwright
struggling with plots, characters, deadlines - and writer's bloc. And
he's in competition with Christopher Marlowe, who writes for a rival
theater. And his producer (Geoffrey Rush) is deeply in debt to the
local moneylender (Tom Wilkinson) whose methods of collection are
insidious. Just as the future of their Rose Theater looks dire, a
wealthy merchant's daughter, Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), who
swoons over Will's sonnets, decides to masquerade as a boy (since
girls were not allowed to perform on the stage at that time) and
audition for "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate King's Daughter," one of
Will's works-in-progress. She's hired immediately, as Will is
enchanted with the recitations of his new "Romeo" until, of course, he
discovers he is a she - at which point the bawdy Bard slips between
the radiant maiden's sheets - but, by then, Queen Elizabeth I (Judi
Dench) has promised her in marriage to Lord Wessex, a cold, arrogant
Virginia tobacco farmer (Colin Firth). All's well that ends well and,
if their escapades resemble "Twelfth Night," that's no coincidence. In
true Shakespearean form, there are mistaken identities, sight gags,
ghosts, sword-fights, betrayal, lies - and a dog. You don't have to
know Shakespeare to enjoy this incandescent film but the more you
know, the more you will appreciate its hilarious wit. On the Granger
Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Shakespeare in Love" is an enchanting, richly
comic 10. Not only one of my 10 Best Pictures of the Year but one of
the major Oscar contenders.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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