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Shakespeare in Love

Although the Oscar buzz and nomination process nearly shadowed the film and its stars, Shakespeare in Love reveled in Oscar glow, winning seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Actress (Paltrow), and Supporting Actress (Dench). The night's efforts belonged to this wonderfully witty and poetic love story that made us believe in love. Of all the awards received none were as gracious and elegant as when Paltrow herself accepted the award for Best Actress.

London, 1593: the Elizabethan Era. Young, handsome William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is craving inspiration due to his failing creativity. He seeks a soul mate to cure his writer's block, so he may continue to work on his upcoming play.

Fate would leave its mark, and love will show its face in the form of Lady Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow), a woman of means, beauty, and stature whose one joy in present life is attending plays, reading poetry, and carrying the hope of one day being on stage herself. Shakespeare and Viola soon find their attraction to be more than just inspired, they have fallen in love with each other.

But love is not that easily acceptable. Lady Viola has been arranged to marry Lord Wessex (Colin Firth), whose only reason for marriage is to pay off a debt and build on the strength of two families.

In order to act in Shakespeare's play and carry on the affair with him, Lady Viola disguises herself as a man since a woman in the theater is grossly unheard of and would not permitted anyway.

Shakespeare and Viola's love will be tested, and their future decided.

The costumes the Queen wears are over the top--the weight alone could knock you over! Dressed in outrageously bulky, showy, and gaudy gowns just "perfect" for the period, as it respectfully shows. The more regal your standings are in the community, the more done-up you are for appearance. I personally like the gowns (and if I had the opportunity to wear one of those amazing gowns Lady Viola wore I would) that are feminine, romantic, with just the right amount of "oomph" to catch the eye of that dashing gent himself... Shakespeare.

The soundtrack is melodic, classical, and heartfelt. The main piece of music illuminates passion, warmth, and life, leaving an ache in the center of your throat. Overall, the music is triumphant as it is painful. Both emotions send a message of everlasting love.

Highlights of the movie are the comedic flare of Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush), who is the theater owner in charge of showing Shakespeare's play. He is neurotic, sneaky, and oozes with a jittery personality. Ned Alleyn (Ben Affleck) is one of the actors in Shakespeare's play who is conceited, explicitly verbal in showering negative comments about others, and thinks he is the cat's meow. Queen Elizabeth (Judi Dench) plays the tough, intelligent, and open-minded Queen, whose Supporting Actress win was for one of the shortest roles on screen.

A film with allure and class! Fresh, smart, and original. Wrapped up in a glowing package of Oscar-acclaimed performances and a most impressive cast, this movie is a classic work of written, visual, and musical mastery.

Written by: Lynda Dale MacLean

Reviewers Rating: 9.5
Reader's Rating: 7.16
Reader's Votes: 13

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