London, 16th century: young William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) faces a bad case of writer's block, not making any progress in the comedy commissioned by Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush) and his associate Fennyman (Tom Wilkinson). The work's title? "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter". Enters Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow), beautiful lady with a passion for theater, who, disguised as a man, gets the role of Romeo. Will falls for her and their affair ends up shaping the final version of "Romeo and Juliet".
The two leads have a nice chemistry. Paltrow is delightful as Viola; Fiennes is likable as Shakespeare without losing the character's edge. But I enjoy the performances by Wilkinson, Rush and Dench (who is great as Queen Elizabeth) even more.
In fact, the movie features a group of colourful secondary characters played by an interesting cast, including also Imelda Staunton as Viola's nurse, Colin Firth as Viola's boorish suitor, Ben Affleck as a famous thespian and Rupert Everett as playwright Christopher Marlowe.
Frankly, I don't believe Shakespeare in Love deserved its stunning success at the Academy Awards. It had too many great competitors for Best Picture in 1998, including a genuine masterpiece like The Thin Red Line. As for Best Writing, it prevailed over The Truman Show, another modern classic and personal favourite.
Still, I bear this movie no ill will. It's a charming little thing.
7/10
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