It doesn't get any better

Rating: 10/10 (27 January 2004)

Whenever I'm feeling a bit down (my recent 50th birthday comes to mind) I make a pot of tea and pop this film into the DVD. From start to finish, this movie is a delight. It has humor, pathos, good jokes, a love story or two, competent acting, and a bit with a dog. There is a sense that you are actually witnessing the creation of modern playwriting (which is what Romeo and Juliet was) and intruding on the very private lives of those who made it happen. Fiennes is marvelous as Will Shakespeare, giving the myth some substance; he wasn't always revered and honored as he is today. Paltrow is perfect as Viola. (I simply cannot even imagine Julia Roberts in this part. I'm truly glad the financing fell through when it did.) But it is the supporting cast that tweaks this film into the piece of art that it is. Imelda Staunton has long been one of my favorites and she shines as the Nurse who allows Viola to discover who she really is. Geoffrey Rush steals every scene he appears in (and I often use his line "It's a mystery" when explaining the world to my film students). Tom Wilkinson's transformation from crass businessman to a lover of the theater is not only touching, but so well acted that you almost don't notice how great that transformation is. And Ben Afleck out "Callowing" Simon Callow is both fun to watch and compare.
Editing, direction, art direction, music, actors, and top-notch writing all come together to form a film that is much greater than the sum of its parts. This is, in my opinion, a perfect film.