Shakespeare in Love (1998)
At its core, Shakespeare in Love is a backstage story, similar in fashion to prior Oscar-winners The Broadway Melody, All About Eve, The Great Ziegfeld, or Amadeus. Like many of the aforementioned, this film’s imaginative plot is fictional but with solid roots in history. Whether on Broadway, in Vienna, or in London, these are “theatre folks” putting on shows. In this case, it’s a comedy about the making of a tragedy. It’s not the first time Romeo and Juliet has served as inspiration for a Best Picture, either. Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents adapted it for West Side Story. This time around, it’s a behind-the-scenes account of how this immortal Elizabethan play came to be.
The clever script by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard is the real star, blending styles and approaches so adeptly it feels like the “love child” of Merchant-Ivory and Mel Brooks. The double entendres and show-biz references flow freely, infusing period flavor with modern wit. The setup involves two rival theatres (the Rose and the Curtain) with competing playwrights William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and Christopher “Kit” Marlowe (Rupert Everett in a curiously unbilled performance). Will battles writer’s block on a commissioned comedy called Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter. Out of frustration, he pits theatre owners Phillip Henslowe (Oscar-nominee Geoffrey Rush) and Richard Burbage (Martin Clunes) against each other in a botched bidding war for a play that doesn’t exist yet. Keen to settle delinquent debts with Hugh Fennyman (Tom Wilkinson), Henslowe charges ahead and starts production on it anyway.
During auditions, Viola de Lesseps (Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow), who has been enraptured with Will’s previous plays, dresses up as a young man by the name of Thomas Kent and auditions for the part of Romeo. Viola, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant, is breaking an established law of the day that prevents women from appearing on the stage. Fearing exposure, she flees from the scene, but Will follows her back to her house, where he hands a note to her devoted nurse (Imelda Staunton) that informs “Mr. Kent” that “he” has won the role and should report to the Rose for rehearsals.
Meanwhile, the rest of the cast is assembled: Sam Gosse (Coronation Street‘s Daniel Brocklebank) is a teenaged lad taking on the part of Juliet; Ralph Bashford (Downton Abbey‘s Jim Carter) as the nurse; a stuttering man who is owed money, named Wabash (Harry Potter‘s Mark Williams), as the narrator; Hugh Fennyman (Tom Wilkinson) in the minor role of an apothecary; and a pompous celebrity du jour called Ned Alleyn (Ben Affleck in a delightful performance) as Mercutio.
As the play is developed, it begins to parallel the lives of the people creating it. Viola and Will fall in love, but without her knowledge, Viola has been promised in marriage to Lord Wessex (Colin Firth), a penniless aristocrat who offers nothing of value or interest in the union other than his title in exchange for monetary gain. He is overbearing, cold, and vain—and Viola dislikes him immediately. Nevertheless, she is summoned to appear at the royal court with Lord Wessex, where she’ll be presented to Queen Elizabeth (Oscar-winner Judi Dench) for her blessing and approval. During the brief audience, Viola speaks out about the very nature of love in plays. The queen proposes that love cannot be depicted truthfully on stage, and fifty pounds is wagered on the spot between Wessex and his bride-to-be, with Queen Elizabeth as judge.
During rehearsals, the play switches from comedy to tragedy as it becomes clearer to Will and Viola that their euphoric romance could never work, particularly after Viola learns the devastating truth that Will is already married. Tensions mount, and multiple obstacles nearly prevent the show from going on. In the end, at a different theatre (the Curtain), the play is given its heralded debut, with Will stepping in as Romeo and Viola assuming the role of Juliet when she is plucked from the audience as an emergency replacement. A surprise appearance by Queen Elizabeth attending incognito ends with her decision that Viola has won the wager. Nevertheless, Viola’s obligations lie with Lord Wessex, whom she married earlier that day. She will set sail with him for America, likely never to see her young Will again.
Under the brilliant direction of John Madden, the acting is uniformly strong. Paltrow and Fiennes (who was overlooked by the Academy) strike an expert balance between light comedy, satire, romance, and tragedy, juggling these multifaceted roles of Will/Romeo and Viola/Thomas/Juliet with impressive ease. Dench is on screen a mere six minutes, the second shortest performance ever to capture an Oscar, but the clocks seem to stop each time she is present. It’s a riveting depiction of the legendary monarch with several key lines that speak volumes.
Shakespeare in Love is a breath of fresh air and an unusual choice from the Academy for a (mostly) comedic, period film. It manages to mix styles, genres, and tones, yet pulls it all off in a gloriously satisfying way. I’ve seen this movie many times since it was released, and I enjoy it every bit as much today as I did then.
Shakespeare in Love
Director | John Madden |
Primary Cast | Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck, Judi Dench, Simon Callow, Jim Carter, Martin Clunes, Anthony Sher, Imelda Staunton, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Williams, Daniel Brocklebank, Rupert Everett |
Familiar Faces | Colin Firth from The English Patient, Simon Callow from Amadeus |
Firsts | First Best Picture to win 7 Oscars without winning Best Director |
Total Wins | 7 (Picture, Actress: Gwyneth Paltrow, Supporting Actress: Judi Dench, Screenplay: Original, Art Direction, Costume Design, Score: Musical or Comedy) |
Total Nominations | 13 (Picture, Director, Actress: Gwyneth Paltrow, Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush, Supporting Actress: Judi Dench, Screenplay: Original, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Editing, Sound, Makeup, Score: Musical or Comedy) |
Viewing Format | Blu-ray Disc |
Comments
Shakespeare in Love (1998) — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>