Film Review 2

Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard. 

The film depicts a love affair involving playwrightWilliam Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) while he was writing the play Romeo and Juliet.

The story is fiction, though several of the characters are based on real people. In addition, many of the characters, lines, and plot devices are references to Shakespeare's plays.

Shakespeare in Love won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench).

The movie Shakespeare in Love is set in a very particular time setting. During the film, the great playwright Christopher Marlowe is killed in a bar brawl and Shakespeare is depressed, believing that he was responsible for inducing a man to kill Marlowe.

A young  William Shakespeare is finding it difficult to write a new play. William then meets the lovely and royal Viola, who is going to be an actress. She becomes his muse, as well as the lead `actor' in his new play Romeo and Juliet, as they weave a tangled love affair. This burning passion they feel can only end with separation when Viola is forced to marry Lord Wessex and move to America.

 This film is a wonderful combination of romance, comedy, and drama that attempts a new perspective of the classic Romeo and Juliet story. It employs clever dialogue, beautiful scenes, and wonderful characterization to entertain the viewer.

 With such an excellent script, William comes across as the master of speech that he really is. Some parts of the movie are purely funny as almost to parody the seriousness of Romeo and Juliet.

This film has an interesting twist on the tragic tale because Will becomes not just a writer pouring out the lines for pay, but a man pouring out his heart in true love. At the end of the movie, Romeo and Juliet is presented as though you were actually sitting on the dirt floor of the playhouse.

The setting of this film is very well done, and the playhouses, taverns, and elegant houses convey the feeling of Renaissance England. The costumes, including Queen Elizabeth's glamorous dresses and Viola's body-shaping corset, are seemingly accurate.

 The scenes between Will and Viola are rarely anything but love scenes.The characterization of this film was splendidly carried out.The character of Queen Elizabeth, with her snine comments and all-knowing attitude, was a comical representation of a serious position that kept me completely entertained. 

Christopher Marlowe also provides a wonderful character that conveys `real person' qualities of competition between two famous playwrights. 

It's very funny, hugely entertaining film. The story makes both historical and dramatic sense: before Romeo & Juliet (for that is what Romeo & Ethel, The Pirate's Daughter becomes during the story), Shakespeare was an average writer borrowing heavily from Marlowe. The idea of a doomed romance inspiring him doesn't seem far fetched, especially when it's as well executed as it is here.