Shakespeare in Love

1998 Comedy Drama

William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is on a cold streak. Not only is he writing for Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush), owner of "The Rose," a theatre whose doors are about to be closed by sadistic creditors, but he's got a nasty case of writer's block. Shakespeare hasn't written a hit in years. In fact, he hasn't written much of anything recently. Thus, the Bard finds himself in quite a bind when Henslowe, desperate to stave off another round of hot-coals-to-feet application, stakes The Rose's solvency on Shakespeare's new comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter." The problem is, "Romeo" is safely "locked away" in Shakespeare's head, which is to say that not a word of it is written. Meanwhile, the lovely Lady Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) is an ardent theatre-goer -- scandalous for a woman of her breeding -- who especially admires Shakespeare's plays and, not incidentally, Bill himself. Alas, she's about to be sold as property into a loveless marriage by her mercenary father and shipped off to a Virginia tobacco plantation. But not before dressing up as a young man and winning the part of Romeo in the embryonic play. Shakespeare soon discovers the deception and goes along with it, using the blossoming love affair to ignite his muse. As William and Viola's romance grows in intensity and spirals towards its inevitable culmination, so, too, does the farcical comedy about Romeo and pirates transform into the timeless tragedy that is +Romeo and Juliet. more..

Director: John Madden

Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth,Ben Affleck

Reviews

  • One of those entertaining confections that's so pleasing to the eye and ear you'd have to be a genuine Scrooge to struggle against it.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    27 April 2013

  • I was carried along by the wit, the energy and a surprising sweetness.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

  • The richest and most satisfying romantic movie of the year. It's really about two great loves at once -- the love of life and of art -- and the way that Shakespeare, like no writer before him, transformed the one into the other.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • Anyone not romantically inclined going into Shakespeare in Love surely will be by the end.

    - The San Francisco Chronicle

    27 April 2013

  • Some scholars may scowl, some lowbrows may scoff. But, like wordwise Will, these filmmakers know how to win a crowd -- from the queen down to the groundlings, from the sky above to the stage below. Bravo!

    Michael Wilmington - The Chicago Tribune

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Actress in a Leading Role

    Academy Awards (1999)

  • Best Edited Feature Film

    American Cinema Editors (1999)

     
  • Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

    American Comedy Awards (1999)

     
  • Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases

    American Society of Cinematographers (1999)

     
  • Feature Film

    Art Directors Guild (1999)