This movie is one for the movie-buff collection!

Rating: 10/10 (13 December 1999)

Mere words cannot express the beauty of this movie. One has to see it in order to begin to grasp the majesty, the poetry of the movie. Listening to "Viola" Gwyneth Paltrow (Flesh and Bone) reading poems is wonderful. She is brilliant in the part. She deserved the Oscar she won a million times. She is a gorgeous young woman and a great actress. I first rented the tape to check it out because I don't have the patience to watch those endless movies more than once. I will not say which movie I made me feel that way. I don't have the patience, or could it be patient?!? Many times a movie gets many Oscars but becomes a sleepy movie in my movie collection or a sleepy rental. But this movie is one for the movie-buff collection! There is much to be digested after one watches it many times.
Viola and Will made a lovely pair. Too bad there is never a happy ending for Romeo and Juliet movies, it would be nice if at least one had a happy ending. The script is brilliant, composed of interwoven stories, the rhythm of the poetry, the photography, the actors acting in two levels: as actors in the play "Romeo and Juliet" and as the characters in the movie. It is just outstanding. This is a rare gem of a movie. Favorite scenes: Will running after Viola in the street and finding out that the he is a she. The love scenes are beautifully done, the nurse and her little fan sitting outside the bedroom and making noise with her rocking chair. Any time Viola reads poetry was lovely. Gwyneth makes reading poetry look easy, but it is not easy. Her sense of timing and her British accent are impeccable. Favorite Quotes: Lord Wessex: "I have spoken to your father." Viola: "I speak to him every day, sir." [Whispering at Viola's bedroom door] Nurse: "Madame, the house is stirring. It is a new day." Viola: "It is a new WORLD."