Shakespeare in Love

"Shakespeare in love" takes place in the 1500's and tells the story about a young play writer named William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) who's out of ideas, but then he falls in love with a girl named Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) and she inspires him to write the famous play "Romeo and Juliet"



Joseph Fiennes performance as Shakespeare is great; I personally think he was made to play that role because the way he acts is probably very close to how Shakespeare would have acted. Gwyneth Paltrow's performance as Viola is another fanrastic performance in this film, especially in scenes when she and Shakespeare are together, because I can honestly feel the love between them. It almost made me cry in some of those scenes, but it wasn't just Fiennes and Paltrows performance that kept the film going, the supporting actors performances are also one of the reasons that kept the film alive and funny like Geoffrey Rush's comical performance as Phillip Henslowe the stage manager; Tom Wilkinson's crazy performance as Hugh Fennyman the Loan Shark; Judi Dench's portrayal as Queen Elizabeth; Colin Firth as Viola's other suitor Lord Wessex; even Ben Affleck's performance as the hot shot stage actor Ned Alleyn was fun to watch.




What's also amazing about the movie are the similarities between the love of Shakespeare and Viola and the love of Romeo and Juliet. For example, Viola has a nurse that she's very close to and she keeps secrets for her, just like the relationship between Juliet and her Nurse. Another similarity is Shakespeare sneaks into a party that he's not welcomed at and meets Viola, just like how Romeo meet Juliet. There were also scenes that made me laugh, like the scene when Shakespeare climbs up the balcony to see Viola but when he gets to the top he sees the nurse right in front of him and they both scream and Shakespeare falls down. These scenes don't just show a similarity it also shows how Shakespeare got his inspiration to write the play (that is in terms of the many creative liberties that this film makes).




The set designs and the art direction were wonderful, especially for the town and the Elizabethan Theater; it almost looks like the real thing. The Costume designs are wonderful, like the clothing that Queen Elizabeth wears or how the people dress in Shakespearean time. The Score is great because it actually makes it feel like you’re in Shakespeare's time. The cinematography is very nice, especially in the love scenes with Shakespeare and Viola. The best thing about the film is it shows you what it's like in the Elizabethan theater, like who would sit where; do girls act with guys on stage; what it is like rehearsing there, and so on.

If you like Romantic comedies or if you're a Shakespeare or a theater fan, you will indeed love this movie

I give this film a 5/5