Charming despite inaccuracies

Rating: Null/10 (7 August 2000)

So many people have criticised this film for winning Best Picture of 1998 over "Saving Private Ryan". I saw both films and the latter was *extremely* good, but when I think about it, how long has it been since a 'comedy' won Best Picture?
True, not all of "Shakespeare in Love" is comedy--the last scenes had me in tears--but the structure of the story provides room for both comedy and drama. I enjoyed this film thoroughly because it was multilayered. You did not have to be a Shakespeare fanatic (as I am) to understand the story, but if you were, it provided many a laugh with specific bits of dialogue or visuals.
There are some rather glaring innacuracies, especially regarding Virginia, which was not colonised until 1607 (the film takes place in 1593).
Performances, on the whole, were extremely charming. Standouts included Colin Firth as Wessex, Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth and, oddly enough, Simon Callow as Master Tilney. Joseph Fiennes was very good as the Bard, himself, though I still believe Cate Blanchett should have won the Oscar for "Elizabeth" rather than Gwyneth Paltrow for her performance here.