Shakespeare In Love:
There is a part of "Shakespeare In Love" where the queen, played by the wonderful Judi Dench("Mrs. Brown") where her character talks about how simple plays are not able to truely
bring to life the true experience of love. It is up to one William Shakespeare to prove her wrong. It's this film that proves a whole lot of recent films wrong. Where we're thrown many a
mechanical, formulaic romances that are simplistic and utterly joyless. One has almost forgotten a film that brings to life the true maddening glory and joy of the grand act of falling head over heels in love, then
a film that is so rich, beautiful, smart and well done comes along. "Shakespeare In Love" is definitely one of those films, a true classic work that defied any of my expectations walking in. Parts tragedy, parts comedy, parts love story add up
to a whole of grand performances.
The story trails Shakespeare through the days as he writes and tries to put together his play, "Romeo and Ethel"(well, it's a working title.) There is a wild cast of characters working around him such as Marlowe(Rupert Everett),a more popular playright during the time;
Henslowe(Geoffrey Rush), and more. What I loved about the film was the way it takes the audience through the day to day life; the business that it took to even get a play made in the first place. There's deadlines, casting,the stage to secure,the money to pay the actors.
Soon the camera comes upon Viola de Lesseps(Gwyneth Paltrow), a woman who is absolutely enraptured by the poetry of Shakespeare's words, so much, that she dresses up as a man to audition for a role in his next play, unknown to Will, who has also recently fallen in love with the sight of Viola as herself.
Prohibited from acting since she's a woman, Vila turns to Shakespeare, who sees Vila as the perfect muse for his current state of writer's block. It's a match made in heaven as the two pair upto complete the play, keeping Vila's secret all the time in some very funny scenes as the two keep the cover-up
going. The greatness of the film is how it is at the same time very serious about its subject as well as being wonderfully playful and satiric, providing for some great moments of high comedy.
Viola, unfortunately is set to marry Earl Of Wessex in two weeks; it is during this time that her and Shakespeare are set adrift in each other's eyes, spending days and nights together, reading lines of the play to one another in bed. Many of the moments that end up in the play are moments that the two spend together, most memorably
the balcony scene right out of the final play.
The best scenes of comedy throughout the film is how incredibly close the act of putting on a play comes to the act of putting on a current Hollywood production. There are production partners, tickets that need to be sold, actors that need to be pampered; there's even a riverboat driver that asks Shakespeare to read a script he's written. It's these
scenes, as well as a scene where Shakespeare convinces a touring actor played by Ben Affleck(in a strange bit of casting that suprisingly works), to play Mercutio; the scene ends with Affleck's character simply stating: "He dies in the end?"
There are some outstanding performances here. Gwyneth Paltrow is simply at her most radiant and wonderful playing Viola. There is a light, a pure energy that she harnesses in this character that is similar to the kind of energy that I see in Emily Watson("Hillary and Jackie"), another of my favorite actresses. Her as well as Joseph Finnes as Shakespeare, make
a luminous and wonderful couple. Judi Dench as the queen, though, steals the show as she comes out of nowhere to drop devasting wit amongst the court, in some scenes that are sharp and extremely funny. The script is what lifts the film into a heavenly level, with a wit that somehow reminds me of David Mamet(for some reason this whole film reminds me of "Wag The Dog", why, I don't know).
There are just so many things the film tries; comedy, satire, seriousness, drama; the film throws everything and the kitchen sink at you and suprisingly, it all works wonderfully as the timing is just so perfect that it all manages to come together.
"Shakespeare In Love" is outstanding, grand filmmaking that is supremely joyous. Paltrow, especially, deserves a definite nomination for best actress; I'll be highly shocked if this film doesn't recieve a much
deserved nomination for Best Picture.
