Stage Beauty (2004) User Reviews (106)

Not for dogmatists of any stripe...

[quixotegrrl · 8/10 · 27 June 2005]

Those who have something invested in keeping the boundaries of gender and sexuality rigid will be offended by this film, whether they be religious fundamentalist types or gay-rights advocates who argue from the constrictive either/or framing of their opponents. Fundamentalists (and I used to be one!) would, at the same time, find material to support their nurture-not-nature conclusions in Ned Kynaston's background (implicit victimization at the hands of an implicit pedophile), the bigoted comments of the king about effeminate boys, and most of all the actor's eventual orientation "reversal" at the hands of the "right woman." This, of course, would anger those who have chosen to engage them in the loaded "is it a choice?" battle which completely dismisses the B in LGBT. If you are coming from an angle in which no Kinsey scale exists, then the offense makes sense.

I think it's a mistaken angle, however. My only complaints about this movie were minor, and involved poor editing, unnecessary dialogue, and a couple of unlikely scenarios (e.g. the carriage ladies' hyperbolic reaction to Ned's petticoat surprise). Otherwise, I loved it - enough to watch it four times on DVD. For me, this story was about identity, authenticity, the malleability of gender and sexuality, and the difference between love and projection.

At the bustling outset of the film, Ned (pitch-perfect Billy Crudup, ravishing in any incarnation) is arrogant and narcissistic; his self-regard is balanced perilously upon a constructed self that relies on the applause of others. Alone with Maria, we get a glimmer of something else in him when he pauses contemplatively to quote his mentor - "Never forget that you are a man in woman's form...or was it the other way 'round?" This hint at an awareness (on his or the film's part) of the essential duality of human nature is echoed by Maria - "You would make as fine a man as any woman."

When Ned loses his role and his audience to Maria, he loses his very identity; in this way, she "kills" him. The theme of killing and dying is cleverly woven throughout the narrative, both onstage and off. (But more on that presently.)

Lost and literally beaten, Ned turns to his former lover, who spurns him with droll indifference. Ned is no longer the shallow Duke's glittering projection but a raw, needy, and very messy human being. Ned's disastrous last-ditch attempt to play Othello for the king in order to save his livelihood is the final humiliation. Maria watches his disintegration onstage, and grasps his utter vulnerability for the first time. It's a credit to Claire Danes' talent that she can speak volumes without uttering a word; in this scene and the inn scene her unexpressed love bleeds from every pore.

The almost-sex scene between the two at the inn is one of my favorite love scenes in any film. The gentle role-switching from "man" to "woman" (in alternate parlance, "top" to "bottom" or "dominant" to "submissive") leads to a passionate confusion in which, if you'll notice, Ned tells Maria (astride him) first that she is the "woman" - "And now?" she says, kissing and caressing him - "The woman," he says - "And now?" she says, her passion intensifying - "The man," he murmurs. Do the roles really matter? If only he had shut up about Desdemona! But there is still some "dying" left to do, and not in the Shakespearian sense. Call it evening the score.

For alas, Maria is a terrible actress: as affected as Ned was, and twice as false. In rehearsal with someone who evokes her own passion, however, her performance begins to come alive.

The harrowing climax of the film has the viewer wondering, along with the theatre audience, if the newfound Othello's murderous passion is real. And it is, which is why Ned is so good at it. In "killing" Maria onstage, he manages at once to work out his Othello-like ambivalence and rage toward a woman he also loves; to "kill" her affected stage persona; and to give birth to himself as an authentic actor in his own male body. It's damn near perfect.

"Finally got the death scene right." Ned may not yet know who or even what he is, but he finds expression of his innermost being with a person who loves and accepts him for whomever he may turn out to be. We should all be so lucky.

The bad and the beautiful

[yoyomagoo · 8/10 · 20 September 2004]

Stage Beauty is another adaptation of a play. Yawn? Well don't, because it also happens to make a highly successful transition from stage to screen thanks to the genius that is director Richard Eyre.

It tells the tale of Ned (Billy Crudup), a young actor who specialises in portraying women on stage. In a world where only men are allowed to tread the boards, Ned's "Desdemona" (from Shakespeare's Othello) is the closest thing 17th century audiences get to femininity in theatre. However, a young upstart in the form of Maria (played by Clare Danes) wants to change all that. She has a passion for drama and unfortunately the bisexual Ned. With the help of King Charles II (Rupert Everett), she may just get her wish, changing theatre forever, and hopefully pick up Ned on the way.

When thinking of the themes of the film, many people dismiss it as a clone of Shakespeare in Love. This is unfair- the film is more thought provoking, substantial and better acted than the aforementioned Oscar snaffler. It explores themes of sexuality and gender with insight and intelligence as well as telling (and, in fact enthralling us with) a love story. As previously referred to, the acting is exceptional, especially the two leads (Danes and Crudup) who shine. The supporting cast is strong too, with Richard Griffiths as a heterosexual prequel to his role in Withnail and I, Tom Wilkinson brimming with quiet intensity as Betterton and Everett hamming it up wonderfully as the King.

Even if it does end on a slightly trite note (not to give too much away, but its' "birth of method acting" shtick irritates), Stage Beauty is a funny, heart-warming and occasionally quite cerebral meditation on love and art. What more could any theatre, or film lover for that matter, want? And don't say Shakespeare In Love!

English thespians

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 23 October 2004]

This movie has the blessing of the flawless direction of Richard Eyre, who knows a lot about kings and queens. The screen play is adapted by the author of the play, Jeffrey Hatcher. Surprisingly, these two men have been able to create a film that is not only visually satisfying, but it also is an adult entertainment.

This movie gives us a glimpse of how theatre functioned in England up to the times of Charles II. The female roles of all plays were portrayed by male actors. The school of acting in that era was an artificial one where actors relied in gestures and affectations that would be laughable today in a serious drama, but that was the way it was the accepted Method then, nothing to do with Stanivslaski, or Strassberg.

The leading figure of that theatrical world was Ned Keynaston, who was the most famous Desdemona of his time. There must have been a lot of gay men that were attracted to that world, as was the case with Mr. Keynaston, who might have been bisexual, although that comes as a secondary subplot. This actor is greatly admired by all, including the dressing assistant, Maria. This girl loved to be in the theatre, but could not, because only men were allowed. So instead, she goes to a second rate company that puts on plays in a pub and emerges as Margaret Hughes, an actress in her own right who will challenge Keynaston's Desdemona and makes that role, her signature role as well.

Claire Danes, as Maria, or Margaret Hughes, has never been better! She shines as the girl whose ambition is to be on stage. She is wonderful in the part. Ned, played with gusto by Billy Crudup, shows an unexpected range, although he has done theatre extensively. Both of these actors takes us back to London and make us believe that what we are watching.

A glorious English cast behind the two American principals are gathered to play effortlessly the theatrical figures of the time, and also the King and his court. Ruper Everett, as King Charles II, is hilarious. The scene in which he plays in drag with his mistress, Nell Gwynn, is one of the best things of the movie. Also, Richard Griffith, as lecherous Sir Charles Sedley, gives a stellar performance. Ben Chaplin, as the Duke of Buckingham, reveals the ambiguity of the men that were attracted to those early thespians.

Thoroughly enjoyable because of Richard Eyre's direction and eye for detail.

Sumptuous, passionate, raw - a gorgeous, romantic film

[colettesplace · 3 December 2004]

'Without beauty, there's nothing. Who could love that?' (Ned Kynaston, Stage Beauty)

Don't expect an elegant historical romp from Stage Beauty; it's much more than that. Director Richard Eyre (Iris) and screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher have loosely interpreted true events to deliver a passionate, romantic journey of gender-bending self-realisation set in the bawdy world of the British Restoration, circa 1660.

In a time when women are banned from acting on stage, King Charles II is on the throne, accompanied everywhere by his vulgar but merry mistress, Nell Gwnn. Meanwhile Ned Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is the most celebrated leading lady of his time. He is adored…by his audiences, by his lover and patron the Duke of Buckingham, and secretly loved by his dresser Maria (Claire Danes). But when aspiring actress Maria's illegal performance as Desdemona in Othello triggers royal permission for women to act on stage, Kynaston's fall from grace is swift.

This is an actors' film, where the talents of Danes and in particular, Crudup, shine. (Their remarkable relationship triggered an off-screen romance.) Crudup is taut as the bisexual Kynaston, trained to be a calamity and actress since early adolescence, and emotes powerfully as he struggles with his sexuality and identity in an unfriendly new political landscape. He is alternately a catty drag queen, angry young man and committed thespian, without ever straying beyond credibility. In contrast, Danes is luminous but unsure as Maria. A talented supporting cast includes Rupert Everett, providing comic relief as the languid King, while Ben Chaplin is sensual as the self-serving Duke.

Stage Beauty has been compared to Shakespeare in Love, but although it's less successful, it's far less contrived. Although Stage Beauty is a love story, you don't know how things will resolve. The pace is less brisk than in a more manufactured film, but it's also more realistic, enhanced by production design and costuming which depicts both the grit and the sumptuousness of the time.

While at first the on stage acting grates, it is deliberate. As Stage Beauty progresses, the acting technique evolves to resemble 19th Century Naturalism – not true to life, but faithful to the emotional journey of the characters. It's a special film that will take you on an emotional journey too.

**** out of ***** stars.

"Who are you now?"

[Rogue-32 · 7/10 · 19 February 2006]

Stage Beauty is an unbelievably ambitious production, and with so many provocative themes running simultaneously it's definitely not boring. What I liked the most was the way the sexual ambiguity was portrayed - most of those scenes had a playful touch, so as not to get drearily heavy-handed, but I also felt a lot of the veering between seriousness and comedy was awkward where it should have been smooth. Rupert Everett's droll turn as the King was perfect, and Claire Danes has never been more passionate and radiant. Billy Crudup's role was the most difficult, of course, and he handled it commendably. My favorite scene is the one where the two of them are in bed, and she's asking, "who are you now?" (the man or the woman, based on the position) - a brilliant scene which depicts the ridiculousness of gender-stereotyping with wit and charm to spare.

Beautiful, smart and memorable

[lupavarg · 10/10 · 27 November 2004]

This is a movie worth watching several times. It's smart, well made and very well written. Intelligent movies are not that common and this is a beautiful exception. If you loved 'Shakespeare in love' you will most likely not love this one, but if you want something more from your movie experience, this is a movie for you. I do not know why people compare the two, since they are miles apart. 'Stage Beauty' is in a whole other league and has real acting, real dialogs and real humanity, which 'Shakespeare in love' lacks. It is also nice to see the level of effort that is made to make 'Stage Beauty' so real in time and costume. The light, sound and stage is convincing to the max.

Billy Crudup makes an exceptional role as Ned Kynaston.

Crudup's Beauty

[marcosaguado · 7/10 · 28 April 2005]

He is exquisite, Billy Crudup I mean, but not as a woman. Strangely enough he is more feminine as a man than he is as a woman. Look at him in "Almost Famous" perfect. Shaped like a flamenco dancer, rhythmic, sexual, casually overpowering. In "Jesus's Son" just by waking up at the beginning of the film, he, his character, gets you. Here he seems at odds with the feminine aspect of his character. His Desdemona is a performance. What perhaps I'm saying is that I admired the performance but I didn't feel it. I was aware of its quality but I couldn't taste it, as I have done with previous Billy Crudup creations. Another strange thing, Clare Danes. I think she's one of the most interesting actresses of her generation and here you enjoy her enormously when she's on but her character is now a blurry dot in my memory. What remains most vividly in my mind is Rupert Everett's sensational turn as King Charles. All said and done, try not to miss it.

Dazzlingly Entertaining, A Tour De Force

[lawprof · 10/10 · 22 October 2004]

Before the Great Fire and the Great Plague of the mid-seventeenth century, London slowly, joyously awoke to the end of the Interregnum, that dark period of the evil regicide, Cromwell and his dull and dim son and successor. Theaters shut down during the Protectorate now reopened and the die-hard, dour Puritans either doffed their somber garb and decamped for more favorable vice-free venues or joined the fun.

Director Richard Eyre and script author Jeffrey Hatcher (who wrote the play on which "Stage Beauty" is derived) set the screen with a feast of authentic costumes and an almost palpable ambiance of a great city resurrecting a rich cultural life, at least for those of means.

But, as has been said, the play is the thing and the acting here is uniformly engrossing, indeed superb.

Based more or less on history, the film chronicles an awkward and for many painful evolution of law and theater, the two intertwined. For when Charles II was restored to the throne lost by his father (who also lost something else of even more estimable value), theaters reopened but under an old law that forbade the presence of actresses on the stage. The great female roles of Shakespeare were performed by men, some of whom were the subjects of audience and patron adulation for their skills of gender mimicry.

Ned Keynaston (Billy Crudop) is the leader of the pack, a star of the stage whose Desdemona is the height of his career. Serving as his dresser is Maria (Clair Danes), a frustrated actress who mouths the lines of Desdemona from the side of the stage as Ned wows the punters.

Maria actually gets to act behind Ned's back but in a less than first-line theater, her costume borrowed, to be generous, from the unsuspecting Ned.

What follows is a comedy and a drama as the king (Rupert Everett), at the urging of one of his mistresses, Nell Gynn (newcomer Zoe Tapper) proclaims that women may take on the roles of their sex and the cadre of female impersonators must seek new and gender authentic roles. At first amused, then devastated by a loss of roles, income and prestige, Ned slides to singing bawdy songs in drag to a somewhat low(er) class clientele in a sink run by a foulmouthed harridan. But under the protection of a genuinely odious, rotund and foul Sir Charles (Richard Griffith), Maria becomes the toast of the town for her fine acting.

Sexual attraction equally matched by a moving ambiguity permeates both the roles played by Maria and Ned and their off-stage lives. Maria is in love with Ned who is, at least, potentially bisexual while actually intimate with one of the king's favorites, the second Duke of Buckingham (Ben Chaplin). Buckingham was, in actuality, one of the most complex characters during Charles's two decade exile and then restoration to the throne. A conniver and master manipulator, here his skills are shown as being wholly adapted to surviving in a court attended by intrigue at every turn.

Eyre projects role reversal both with Ned and Maria's theater life and their increasing personal but never simple involvement. Can he make love to a woman? Does he know himself what his orientation is? There is a certain contemporaneity to the artfully acted issues raised in this mid-1600s scenario.

Eyre could not have selected a better cast. Crudop is penetrating as a man whose whole, strange persona is transformed in an instant by a monarch's command. Everett is disarmingly foppish as the Stuart monarch but in a critical scene he reveals his deep, lasting resentment over his father's and his dynasty's fate as he orders women to be allowed to perform. Edward Fox is splendid in short takes as Charles's key minister, Sir Edward Hyde (the Earl of Clarendon but he's never identified with his proper peerage title).

Zoe Tapper may well have studied the life of her character, "the Protestant Whore" (so known and loved by the London underclass to distinguish her from the despised "Catholic Whore" who alternated with Nell for the king's company and body (forget about the queen-she doesn't even make an appearance here). She's crude, raw, vulgar, sentimental, loyal and cunning - she IS Nell Gynn.

Hugh Bonneville is the randy, compulsive diarist Sir Samuel Pepys, father of the Royal Navy, here a stage door Johnny, a voyeur. Ben Chaplin as the Duke of Buckingham is just the right admixture of randiness and a healthy regard for the penalty that can be incurred by going too far over the edge of conventionality. And Tom Wilkinson as Ned's and then Maria's stage impresario combines business acumen with a soft human touch.

But special kudos go to Clair Danes - this is her best performance to date. She runs the gamut of emotions from helpless subservience to repressive laws to sprightly awakening of her worth to deep confusion about her priorities and needs. She inhabits the role of Maria with skill and grace. An Oscar-worthy display.

The score is fine, briskly and authentically complementing the story. And for the first time ever in a movie a king of England is shown cavorting in the royal rack with his mistress while six adorable King Charles Spaniels look on.

10/10

Screen Beauty

[arichmondfwc · 7/10 · 27 April 2005]

Billy Crudup is an actor I follow with feverish anticipation. I saw him for the first time on Broadway, about 10 years ago, in a Stoppard play. It was love at first sight. A sensual, magnetic, beautiful man. "Jesus Son" "Waking the Dead" and "Almost Famous" confirmed my initial impression. Here we have an actor for the ages. A unique, monumental talent. "Stage Beauty" however, gives me pause. Billy is entrusted with a bigger than life role and he comes out of it with a half cooked, self conscious, affected performance. He underlines every other line with a semi smile, a slight pressure of the mouth as if he didn't trust the power of his own delivery. It could be treated as a character trait if you've never seen Billy Crudup before but that tic belongs to the actor not to the character. I'm, of course, being a bit anal retentive. At his weakest, Billy is stronger than most but my expectations are so high that something like that would throw me out of my involvement with his character. The film as a whole is lovely and fun. The one most effective element is Rupert Everett's performance as Charles II, his best - an that is saying a lot - in many, many moons. Comparasions with "Shakespeare in Love" are unavoidable but totally misguiding. See it for what it is and you'll enjoy it thoroughly.

Sexy, smart, romantic...a movie for actors and playwrights

[bondgirl6781 · 8/10 · 4 May 2006]

I had heard of the film through tadbloid and celebrity headlines of how Billy Crudup left his seven month pregnant girlfriend, Mary-Louise Parker, for Claire Danes. I wasn't interested in the film, but then my sister got the DVD for her birthday. I saw it for the first time over the week and I have been watching it over and over again. What a beautifully written story about acting, gender, theater, illusion, romance, and discovery of one's own identity. During the Restoration of England under the reign of King Charles II, women were finally given the freedom and right to perform on the stage whereas before the decree it was illegal and obscene for a woman to perform on stage.

Ned Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is the greatest actor and the most beautiful "woman" of the English stage. He played several women's part and his most famous is the role of Desdemona in William Shakespeare's Othello. He is studied, admired, loved, and envied by his dress keeper, Maria (Claire Danes). She watches from the wings and longs to act and she does so behind Kynaston's back and in low pubs before a royal official, the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Chaplin). Then the chain of events unfold as Maria is introduced to Charles II (Rupert Everett) and his mistress Nell Gwyn (Zoe Tapper) who then declares that women will be given the freedom to perform in theater.

As Maria's fame rises and women are playing more and more of the female roles, Ned Kynaston (the last of his kind of actors) is casted aside. As an actor and as man, Kynaston had learned to suppress all masculinity in order to gain the grace and beauty of a woman. He knows only how to portray women and he is lost in learning to play male roles. But then again Maria is unable to play the role of Desdemona as a real woman. Both Kynaston and Maria fall in love and into passion as they learn from each other their own sexual identities and to channel their femininity and masculinity.

I fell in love with the film's story and with the performances of Billy Crudup and Claire Danes. As Kynaston, Crudup reveals vulnerability and strength as a man who discovers himself as a man (and a very hot one at that) through the role and eyes of being a woman. As Maria, Danes is beautiful and real: those tears are real! She can cry on cue and with the heartbreak of a real woman in love and envious of the man she loves. Maria is a strong, forthcoming, and in way a modern actress ahead of her time. She is not an "Eve" from All About Eve, she is a Viola Delesop from Shakespeare In Love, but real. The love scene between Danes and Crudup is sexy, tender, and passionate showing that explicit sex and nudity is not always necessary. They look into each other's sides and truly learn from each other as man and woman.

This is a highly recommended film for those who love acting, period pieces, or just if you want to see a really good film, "Stage Beauty" is very much the film to watch.

An interesting, if inaccurate movie

[paintbrush_2003 · 7/10 · 8 January 2006]

This is the sort of movie that has probably done well on word-of-mouth alone. I liked it enough to recommend it to at least 2 different friends. Like Shakespeare in Love before it, this movie is definitely not historically accurate. If you can look past some of the more glaring inaccuracies (if you've ever taken a history of theater class you'll know instantly what I mean), you will be rewarded with a pretty gripping story. If you like Shakepearen-era theater and like stories that are well-written, you'll like this one. While I had certainly known there was a time in theater when men played women's parts, I had never before thought about what might have happened to them when women were finally allowed on the stage. This is an interesting and thought-provoking movie and probably best for adults and mature teens.

A Magnificent Restoration

[dragonswizardz · 10/10 · 21 June 2006]

"The Restoration" theatre vividly brought to life by a first-rate "Company of Players". In an age when women were forbidden to perform on the stage Ned Kynaston was arguably the "prettiest man in London" & the toast of the London's theatrical world. But when Charles II declares women may indeed trod the theatre's (& London's) stage(s), he finds himself haunted by the persona he has become. And, in so doing, he provides a triumphant view of a turning point in his career ~~ and in the history of the theatre. A visually stunning movie with a superb cast headed by Claire Danes (Maria), Billy Crudup (Ned Kynaston) & Rupert Everett (King Charles II) that enchants as well as creates the Restoration Age in England.

Smart, ribald fun

[paulnewman2001 · 7/10 · 23 December 2004]

With Christmas-cancelling Oliver Cromwell in his grave and bon vivant Charles II saucing it up with Nell Gwyn, London was ripe for change in the 1660s.

But for actor Ned Kynaston (Billy Crudup) whose livelihood is playing the leading ladies in theatre, no change could be more serious than the dandy monarch's decision to allow actual women on the stage.

Ned suddenly finds himself out of favour and out of work as his former wardrobe mistress Maria (Claire Danes) becomes the novel toast of the London stage – but the curtain's not down on him yet.

Director Richard Eyre gives full-blooded life to Jeffrey Hatcher's observant, literate and frequently funny script, delivering an earthy period romp with a universal subtext about the sting of redundancy and the difficulty of being the last in the old line and the first in the new.

He's served particularly well by Crudup and Danes, with wonderful support from Richard Griffiths, Derek Hutchinson, Rupert Everett and, particularly, a spicy turn from Zoe Tapper as a feisty Nell.

Carry On the Sociological Analysis

[JamesHitchcock · 5/10 · 27 March 2008]

The early 1660s were a crucial period in the history of the English theatre. The London theatres had all been closed by the Puritans in 1642, and did not reopen until the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660. At this period women were still forbidden from acting on the public stage, so all female parts were played by male actors, just as they had been ever since Shakespeare's day. In about 1662, however, the law was changed to allow women to act in public, and the day of the "boy player" taking female parts was at an end.

One of the two main characters in "Stage Beauty" is Edward Kynaston, who was a real-life individual. Kynaston was an actor of the period, who was said to have been a young man of exceptional beauty and was famed for his portrayal of female roles such as Desdemona in Shakespeare's "Othello". The other main character is his stage-struck dresser Maria, who harbours secret ambitions to go on the stage. When the King alters the law, under the influence of his mistress Nell Gwyn who herself has ambitions to become an actress, Maria gets her big chance. Soon, however, a further change in the law forbids men from playing women's parts, and Kynaston finds his livelihood under threat. A further complication is that he and Maria fall in love, even though he has previously been homosexual.

This plot involves a few liberties with the historical facts. Kynaston implies that he has been trained all his life to specialise in female parts, rather like the onnagata of classical Japanese theatre, and that he will lose his livelihood if he is forbidden to do this. In fact, Kynaston was born around 1640 and would only have been a young child when the theatres were closed, so would not have received any specialised training in acting. The normal convention in the theatre of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries was that female parts were played by adolescent boys who normally graduated to playing male roles in their late teens. During the period 1660-62 the real Kynaston played both male and female roles, and after 1662 had a long and successful career playing male characters only. He would have been around 20 years old in 1660, much younger than Billy Crudup who was 36 when the film was made. (The film takes a generally cavalier approach to the ages of historical characters: King Charles II, 30 years old at the time of the Restoration, is played by the 45 year old Rupert Everett, and the poet Charles Sedley, only 21 in 1660, is played by the 57 year old Richard Griffith!)

There is, of course, a reason for these liberties. The film is ostensibly a light-hearted, bawdy Restoration romp, but it does try to raise some Big Questions, about social class, about the relationship between acting and real life, and about sexuality and gender roles. The main idea it explores (which will be a controversial one in some quarters, particularly among the gay community) is that sexual orientation is not an innate part of one's character but rather a social construct, something forced on one by the culture and conventions of one's society, and because the known facts about the seventeenth-century theatre do not altogether accord with this thesis, they have to be altered to make them fit. The suggestion is that Kynaston's homosexuality is connected with his feminine on-stage persona, that he is essentially acting out a role off-stage as well as on. When a change in the law forces him to act out a male role on-stage, his off-stage personality also changes and he finds himself falling in love with a woman for the first time.

I never found this aspect of the film convincing. Much of the reason for this lay with the casting. Claire Danes was rather dull as Maria, and I could never believe in Crudup as Kynaston. He is handsome enough, but in a rugged, masculine way- not the sort of man who could ever convincingly impersonate a woman. The role called not only for a younger actor but also one with a more androgynous, almost feminine beauty. The attempt to explore serious themes was never well integrated with the more comic aspects of the film; "Carry On" type romps are not the best vehicles for an exploration of gender issues.

There are certain similarities with "Shakespeare in Love", which dealt with the London theatre of the 1590s and also featured a woman acting on stage, and also with "Singin' in the Rain", which dealt with an equally momentous period in the history of the cinema, the coming of sound. It is not, however, in the same class as either of those films. As a mildly bawdy historical comedy it is amusing enough, but as serious historical, psychological or sociological analysis it never succeeds. 5/10

This film didn't receive its due worth

[MadKittenz · 16 September 2004]

This film came and went in the cinema I go to. I went to see it on the last day it was on (which really wasn't very long at all) and I absolutely loved it. I don't think this film got the praise that it deserved. Billy Crudup has the perfect face for a Stage Beauty - he is effeminate in costume, yet a stunning man without the visage he dons for his Desdemona. Claire Danes pulls off her part wonderfully, especially the scene after she 'rescues' Crudup from the tavern, and the final rehearsal scene for Othello. Rupert Everett plays a wonderfully divine King Charles (with his little spaniels) and Zoe Tapper plays the ex-orange seller to perfection. The comedy and more emotional scenes in the play combine brilliantly. Bravo to all involved in this truly great film. If you didn't get the chance to see it in the cinema, I certainly recommend you to go out and rent it!

Beautiful Play about Women on Stage in the 17th Century

[webber-george · 7/10 · 31 July 2015]

If you think this is another run of the mill play adaptation forget it! this film makes a very good transition from stage to screen.

Ned played by Billy Crudup plays women on stage, at a time when only men are allowed on stage. Recent rule changes by the king allow women on stage, so a young girl with a passion for drama called Maria (Claire Danes), aims to change people's thinking and in the process win the heart of Ned (who is bisexual).

I have to say this film has more thought, more story, and in my opinion better performances from the actors than Shakespeare in Love. The theme of sexuality is explored with a great deal of intelligence.

Its a heart warming love story with exceptional leads and a superb strong supporting cast. Well worth watching.

Humorous, Thoughtful and intelligent!

[jfulmer-3 · 10/10 · 12 November 2005]

A terrific film! How could this be overlooked but things like "The wedding crashers" become a hit!? If you enjoy humorous,thoughtful and intelligent entertainment this will quite possibly make your year. Recommend it to friends!

The acting, scene design, and dialog are all just stunning. Billy Crudup's performance is awe inspiring. The scene from Othello near the end is absolutely huge.

My wife does not like nor have any familiarity with Shakespeare and she was on the edge of her seat during that scene. A Winner all the way around.

Conflict--the basis of all drama

[soulurge7 · 7/10 · 5 June 2005]

This is a story of conflict. And to handle conflict it seems the more objective we are the better we are able to handle conflict and take decisive action.

In viewing this film, start looking for the conflict in the very first scenes. You will see the re-action of one actor who doesn't like the final scene of the play within the film that forms this story. Then note the conflict between the dresser (Claire Danes/Maria) and the young women who go back stage to flirt with the lead actor (Billy Crudup/Ned Kynaston) and see how this conflict builds to the full conflict between Maria and Ned.

And where else do we find better conflict between a male and a female. This story proves even more compelling because it is between a female and a male who impersonates a female on stage. Maria's challenge seems to be to change the societal norms of not allowing female actors on stage. But this is just the face value. For she comes to see her real challenge is that she cannot relate to Ned even though she loves him very much.

For Ned, his challenge is that he thinks he knows the female better than most males. What a farce that turns out to be. As Ned's self image crumbles, he does eventually realize that it is he who must change. He finds his redemption by working with Maria and takes action that changes both of them.

Don't miss the fine performance of the King's mistress (Alice Eve/Miss Frayne) who knows exactly why and how she got to where she now happens to be in the King's court. But she doesn't let that deter her from seeing what needs to be changed. As a minor character, she is very funny, and by being detached and objective, she plays a significant role in the unfolding of the plot for this drama.

Stage Beauty is Beautiful Film-making

[jdavisbruin · 9/10 · 30 November 2005]

Despite how much I've enjoyed some movies this summer, such as The 40 Year Old Virgin and Batman Begins, the lackluster movie season has made me turn to DVDs.

A few nights ago I rented Stage Beauty starring Billy Crudup and Claire Daines and got a pleasant surprise. The film was a wonderful blend of comedy and drama. The story, set in London circa 1660, centered around Ned Kynaston (Crudup), a famous bisexual actor who plays women on the Elizabethan stage. His dresser, Maria (Daines), wishes to be an actress, despite a royal decree that only men can act. Still, Maria finds a loophole and under the stage-name Margaret Hughes she performs, impresses the mistress of the King, and inspires a law that forbids men from playing women. Kynaston is therefore out of a job and blames his downfall on his former friend, but of course he eventually falls in love with her. In short, it's a tale of sexual politics told to perfection.

I was initially skeptical about this film as I've never been a big fan of Claire Daines, and though I've always found Billy Crudup attractive, I've never thought of him as a great actor, especially one that could convincingly portray a man who in many ways identifies himself as a woman. However both shine in this film, and the chemistry between them is electrical. Their sex scene together--in which they substitute nudity with simply kissing and running their fingers over each other--was one of the most beautiful and sensual sex scenes I've ever seen. It probably helped that they fell for each other in real life over the course of this film, prompting Crudup to leave his wife, Mary Louise-Parker, while she was pregnant.

The supporting cast of this film is stellar, too. Rupert Everett is a riot as the King, and unknown Zoe Tapper makes an astonishing debut as his mistress. The excellent cast, paired with exquisite writing, made for an entirely enjoyable film.

I'm sure it must be hard to make a dramatic comedy that's as funny as it is dramatic, especially when it's a period piece as well, but Stage Beauty pulls it off with flair. Though on many occasions I felt totally emotionally invested in the characters, especially in the stirring conclusion to the film, at other times I was laughing out loud. This film is full of quotable lines and exchanges, such as when the King says, "Why shouldn't we have women on stage? After all, the French have been doing it for years," and his adviser replies, "Whenever we're about to do something truly horrible, we always say that the French have been doing it for years." Whether you are a fan of period pieces or love Billy Crudup and Claire Daines, rent this film. I sincerely hope it goes down in the books as one of the most under-rated films of 2004. This one was way more Oscar-worthy than the pile of dung otherwise known as The Aviator. If I keep telling myself "I have to buy this" as I'm watching it, you know it's gotta be good...well, that or I have a major DVD buying problem...or both.

intriguing theatre shenanigans for adults

[didi-5 · 6/10 · 19 December 2004]

'Stage Beauty' treads similar ground to 'Shakespeare in Love' as it considers the early cross-dressing roles that were the norm in theatre up to the late 17th century. Charles II (a rip-roaring performance from Rupert Everett) seeks to bring real women on the stage to play female roles, putting the likes of Ned Kynaston (a dull Billy Crudup) out of business.

The film explores the dynamics of the boys who played as girls and of the people around them. The story fixes on Kynaston and his dresser Maria (Claire Danes), who becomes a key Desdemona in her own right once the new rules come in. In passing we also meet Nell Gwyn(n), played by Zoe Tapper; Samuel Pepys (Hugh Bonneville, very good); and the Duke of Buckingham (ambiguous playing by Ben Chaplin).

Other well-known faces round out the cast under Richard Eyre's assured direction. 'Stage Beauty' takes an intriguing theme and develops it in a more mature way than other films on the topic. An enjoyable film overall.

Beautiful!

[kikibug · 10/10 · 22 May 2006]

I loved this movie! Mistress Hughes is charming and true, Ned is perfect, I could well understand _Mariah_'s affection, and I did love his hands; Charlie is great (but then, Everett is always great), pretty witty Nell is a bundle of energy... The movie was so good, at the end my stomach was tight, my pulse was beating fast, and all I could do was... watch it again! :)

As an actress's daughter, I had been curious about when and how did the transition between men-playing-women and women-playing-women. The how is perhaps romanticized, but... I am sure it was very hard on some men who were successful at it, and a personal angst did help drive that point through. The movie was honest, and the two Othelo death scenes which framed it quite took my breath away. The stylistic beauty of the first, where the traces of Comedia del'Arte could be observed, was stage beauty of one kind, and the long and winding path to the realistic stage beauty of the second one... made sense.

The film is a strong acting one, where people who have serious connections with theater will get much more than the rest, which does distribute the real pith among a selected few. But there are also points which are more general - like s*x in pre-Victorian London (high) society, which was more relaxed than during and long after, and I thought that was represented very faithfully in the movie.

Anyway, again, I loved the movie and I will definitely see it yet again!

Can Do Better Than This

[ian_harris · 6/10 · 24 December 2004]

I'm a big fan of Richard Eyre and have a fascination with this period, so I should have loved this movie. It literally sent me to sleep - I needed to rewind and run about half of it a second time - unimpressive.

Actually the second half was better - in particular the Othello death scene done properly.

Don't believe the tosh some correspondents have written regarding the deep meaning on sexuality - such analysis should not get past sophomore. The restored monarchy wanted to counter the puritanical nature of Parliament years when theatre and most music was prohibited. There is an interesting story to be told about that period in theatrical history but this isn't it.

Some fine acting and some fun acting. Rupert Everett does Charles II in the style of the current Prince Charles to great effect. A lot of Eyre's favourite luvvies get cameos too.

It ought to have worked. It didn't. Move on, Richard Eyre, or better still come back to the theatre which is what you do best.

Quite the little masterpiece, in my opinion.

[ndcmwll · 10/10 · 18 February 2006]

Although I came in part way through, the sumptuous sets and photography were immediately captivating. I recognized several cast members as superb actors but was reeled in for the movie's entirety with the appearance of Claire Danes. If I were a high school drama teacher, this would be required viewing for my students because of its historical and theatrical qualities. The psychological intricacies presented in several intense scenes regarding "gender" were vividly heart-wrenching. Since I had no clue as to what I was viewing, I felt compelled to check it out on the Internet for further details. I intend to view it from the beginning ASAP. Highly recommended.

Is Only Skin Deep

[NJMoon · 6/10 · 28 May 2005]

The topics are "Shakespeare" and "love" - but don't get this confused with that other film. This is a stage to screen transfer or a play pinpointing ye old transitional time whence male thespians hung up their frocks and let the ladies don the greasepaint. Billy Crudup - a fetching enough man in any century - is here transformed into a bit of crumpet worthy of a Restoration "Rocky Horror Show", let alone the Bard's "Othello". His dresser (Claire Danes) aches to play Ophelia too so the gal moonlights at the local Cock and Bull Community Playhouse, nicking Crudup's posh stage gear to complete the effect. Well, l.s.s. (long story short) she stinks. Good King Charley (a rich turn by Rupert Everett)reverses his daddy's antiquated ruling barring female thespians, putting Crudup on the skids and Danes on the ascendant. Director Richard Eyre handles the period details well enough and keep things moving for the MTV generation, but midway through the whole affair starts to reek of contrivance. Pseudo modern music zips things up and the script - although using mostly modern idiom - is peppered with the occasional "sir" to keep it sounding period. But catering to modern sensibilities means that it all boils down to the sexual tension between the achingly virginal gal and the cross-dressing gay boy. Hatcher's script has no answer for how to make this work, so a super contrived ending must be confabulated to wrap things up neatly. Tom Wilkinson, left over from that 'other' movie - has to deliver the wordy launch into the trumped-up finale and the look on his face betrays that not even he can believe it. Next thing the audience knows it is being treated to the birth of naturalistic acting - about 250 years before such a thing would have been considered daring. Add to that an ending that hints that the theatrical pairing may be consummated and you've got a film that's turned from thought provoking to skin deep.

Conclusions about sexuality are deeply troubling

[marcfemenella · 1/10 · 19 December 2004]

"Stage Beauty" tries to show off its talent with scenes of great actors playing even greater actors at a time when the theater was everything (at least in England).

Billy Crudup does a swell enough job playing a gender-bending actor best known for his/her role as Desdemona in Shakespeare's "Othello," but with its obnoxious score, trite conflict and unnecessary crudity, the movie collapses under its own weight. Furthermore, Rupert Everett gives a horrendous performance as King Charles II, and Claire Danes wanders about the film aimlessly, seemingly more interested in the authenticity of her accent than the quality of her acting. Like "Being Julia," this film also ends with a final "act-off," but it's far less satisfying.

Of course, the truly disturbing element of "Stage Beauty" is its conclusion about sexuality: If you're gay (which our hero was apparently taught to be during his actress training), simply find a hot female to fornicate with and you'll miraculously be transformed into a straight-as-an-arrow manly man. Crudup delivers a line at the end that tries to imply lingering sexual confusion, but the film never buys into it, and neither do we.