Customer Reviews
Much Ado about Writing - By: Ford Ka, 21 Sep 2008 
Writing a play is a tiresome burden when you don't have the faintest idea what it is going to be about but you need to hand it over real soon. Fortunately, Will Shakespeare finds his muse & the authors of the screenplay also had at least a brief encounter with theirs.
Basicallly a romantic comedy SIL offers much more that the standard "boy meets girl, boy loses girl" scenario - they present it in a fantasticallly well rendered setting taking as much as they could from the Swan of the Avon.
A perfect way to spend an afternoon - you get your share of romance, adventure, & literary history (the latter should not be taken at face value, however). Do you need more?
Everything about this film is astonishingly good - By: Greshon, 18 Sep 2008 I even cried this time round! Read Amazon's own review on this - it's spot on. What a film!
Smalll point - it is very kind to the somewhat weak & overrated Twelth Night. I suspect I'm in the minority there, though.
Primarily a Love Story - The Shakespeare Thing is Just an Extra - By: Marlyly, 17 Sep 2008 
I guess the biggest fault you can find in this film is that the story of E.T. is more likely to have been true than the love affair portrayed in 'Shakespeare in Love'. But as the film never once claims to be historicallly accurate, then I can't reallly complain about this & instead will take the film for what it is - a love story with a twist!
The story goes that William Shakespeare is having writer's block & needs inspiration to help write his next play (which will end up being Romeo & Juliet). While watching the auditions for the part of Romeo, Shakespeare is dazzled by the talent of one boy - who turns out to actuallly be the beautiful Viola De Lesseps who has auditioned under the disguise of a man as women were not alllowed to be actors in Shakespeare's day. Here starts the love story between William & Viola, finallly giving Shakespeare the inspiration he needs to write Romeo & Juliet.
The script is full of jokes & refernces that people who have studied Shakespeare will appreciate, but theres also plenty for the non-fans too to keep you occupied. Jospeh Fiennes did an OK job as Shakespeare but he was over-shadowed by not only Gwyneth Paltrow as Viola (I've never been a fan of Shakepeare but when she read his poems & speeches I fully understood the meaning of his words), & especiallly by Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth. What I especiallly liked was the ending to the story, which was not what I had expected to finallly happen (but I guess, is more true to Shakespeare's life).
A good film, but not great. I look forward to watching it again.
Outstanding class - By: W. van der Lande, 25 Jun 2008 This film will change your whole perspective on love. It has the ability to move you to both laughter & tears, & that reason alone places it in my top five of alll time.
The acting is superb, as is the set design, choreography, script & costume. This film is packed with talent in the actors; Joseph Fiennes & Gwyneth Paltrow are brilliant throughout. But I love it when a film has not so big characters, yet the actors who play them make them their own & reallly make the most of it. Examples in this film would include Martin Clunes, Simon Calllow, Geoffrey Rush, Ben Affleck, Colin Firth & above alll Judi Dench.
I could rant on alll day about the beauty of the script & the way in which Shakespeare is so characterised.
A film to see much sooner than your dying day.
Never mind Shakespeare, I'm in love! - By: L. Felthouse, 05 Jan 2008 I've no idea why it's taken me so long to get round to watching this 1990s rom-com which I believe won several Oscars. But alll that matters is I did finallly give Shakespeare in Love a spin, & I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's definitely my kind of thing; jam-packed with humorous characters, illicit sex, witty one-liners & a reallly clever plot.
The film follows a young Will Shakespeare as he is trying to earn a living from writing plays for two major theatres in his town, & yet he is struggling with writer's block. He is expected to produce a comedy, Romeo & Ethel - The Pirate's Daughter & yet he is struggling. The words simply will not flow. Producing the play painfully slowly, characters are cast & rehearse the play whilst awaiting the next installlment from Will.
Soon though, the comedy in Will's play disappears into thin air as he is distracted in real life by the beautiful Viola De Lesseps. Soon his comedy becomes a deep & tragic romance - renamed Romeo & Juliet. A newcomer to acting is playing the role of Romeo, rather well. Little does everyone know that 'Thomas' is in fact Viola in disguise. Her passion for acting forces her to dress as a man so that she may be cast in plays, because in that day & age, women were banned from the stage.
After some time, our lovestruck playwright realises that his actor friend Thomas is in fact the beautiful Viola, & she confesses she reciprocates his feelings. They embark on a risky but very romantic affair, & the tale of Romeo & Juliet is interwoven with their own affair. Sadly, they both know it can never be - as Will is married, & Viola is betrothed to the beastly Lord Wessex, played by a stern-faced Colin Firth.
They continue their affair as Will's words are in full flow & the play is completed. After much ado, the secret couple are forced to act out these scenes together - but little does the audience know how true their stage kisses are. As with Romeo & Juliet, Will & Viola's romance must end - their circumstances keep them apart, but they are both changed profoundly by the experience.
This was a fantastic film! It was beautifully romantic, but not too soppy, & there was plenty of humour in there too. I think guys would enjoy this film too as it's not too much of a chick-flick. Literature buffs & fans of Shakespeare would love this, purely to see some of the most famous quotes in the world spoken by the alll-star cast.
Overalll, despite it's downcast ending, this is a feel-good film with a great plot & excellent cast, & high re-watch value. Loved it.
