Shakespeare in Love Movie Review
If Tom Stoppard had written nothing else in his life but Arcadia (a brilliant play about my two least favorite subjects, mathematics and gardening), his name would be engraved on my heart forever. He has, of course, written much more than that, including Night and Day (starring Diana Rigg, John Thaw, and David Langton), which I, despite being the world's worst airline passenger, flew all the way from San Francisco to London's Phoenix Theatre to see in 1978. One of the lines from that play, “Information is light,” became a sort of mantra with me, helping me to examine unpleasant truths I didn't even want to glimpse. On March 21, 1999, Stoppard and co-scripter Marc Norman were among the many worthy Oscar recipients for Shakespeare in Love (the film won in seven categories, including best picture). Was Shakespeare in Love such an eccentric choice for Picture of the Year when everyone was expecting Saving Private Ryan to do what Titanic had done the previous year? I don't think so. War movies, however well written, well directed, well produced, et cetera, are hard on an audience—not as hard as war itself, but the voters may have been needled by the Oscar campaign for Saving Private Ryan when its anti-war statement appeared to be transmogrified into jingoism. Look at the Academy's choices in 1998: three big war movies, Elizabeth, and THIS high-spirited entertainment, filled with wit and romance, not to mention enchanting Gwyneth Paltrow as Viola de Lesseps. What sort of a churl could anyone be not to fall in love with her? And the narrative isn't fluff by any means. It's about all the heart-wrenching experiences that writers go through so that the best part of themselves will live forever. There are so many wonderful little touches in this film that make it rich and wonderful: Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth, who's so droll and wry in her eight minutes onscreen that her presence is felt all the way through the other 114 minutes; Ben Affleck as Ned Alleyn, who has just the right egotistical swagger for an actor who thinks that Mercutio is the star of Romeo and Juliet; Colin Firth, so romantic as Darcy in 1995's Pride and Prejudice and such a earringed creep as Lord Wessex, Viola's husband-to be; Geoffrey Rush as a broke and jittery producer; Tom Wilkinson as Hugh Fennyman, whose personality is forever changed when he gets to play the tiny part of the apothecary onstage; Anthony Sher as Dr. Moth, sort of a 16th-century shrink to Will Shakespeare; Joe Roberts as John Webster, a nasty little boy who feeds rats to a cat (and later became a playwright himself, specializing in tales of revenge); and Rupert Everett as legendary playwright Kit Marlowe. Shakespeare in Love’s credentials as an indie are not impeccable, since both Universal and Disney helped with the financing. But Miramax, which also made 1996's The English Patient, continues to insist that it IS independent. Although Miramax film budgets stretch every dollar, the movies always look more expensive than they actually are and the Miramax ballyhoo for Academy Award nominations rivals that of the old-time studios. If I can make one—okay, two—quibbles: (1) My esteemed colleague Heather Clisby thinks that Joseph Fiennes as Will looks just like Prince in Purple Rain (and he does, which is a tad jarring, especially since he has nowhere near the passion or charisma of Paltrow's Viola), and (2) That hokey title. Think about it! Playwrights in Love, Composers in Love, Statesmen in Love, Philosophers in Love, Chihuahuas in Love….
1998 (R) 122m/C GB Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Judi Dench, Simon Callow, Tom Wilkinson, Imelda Staunton, Jim Carter, Rupert Everett, Martin Clunes, Anthony Sher, Joe Roberts; D: John Madden; W: Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard; C: Richard Greatrex; M: Stephen Warbeck. Academy Awards ‘98: Best Actress (Paltrow), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Original Screenplay, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Dench), Best Original Musical/Comedy Score; Golden Globe Awards ‘99: Best Actress—Musical/Comedy (Paltrow), Best Film—Musical/Comedy, Best Screenplay; New York Film Critics Awards ‘98: Best Screenplay; National Society of Film Critics Awards ‘98: Best Supporting Actress (Dench); Screen Actors Guild Award ‘98: Best Actress (Paltrow), Cast; Writers Guild of America ‘98: Best Original Screenplay; Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards ‘98: Best Screenplay; Nominations: Academy Awards ‘98: Best Director (Madden), Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Supporting Actor (Rush); British Academy Awards ‘98: Best Actor (Fiennes), Best Actress (Paltrow), Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director (Madden), Best Film, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound, Best Supporting Actor (Rush, Wilkinson), Best Supporting Actress (Dench), Best Score; Directors Guild of America Awards ‘98: Best Director (Madden); Golden Globe Awards ‘99: Best Director (Madden), Best Supporting Actor (Rush), Best Supporting Actress (Dench); Screen Actors Guild Award ‘98: Best Actor (Fiennes), Best Supporting Actor (Rush), Best Supporting Actress (Dench). VHS