The script is the star

Rating: 8/10 (29 November 1999)

This is a fine film that I greatly enjoyed. I don't think that it deserved to win the Best Picture Oscar, but the Best Screenplay was no contest. Very satisfying in almost every respect, the film's true star is the brilliant screenplay that interweaves Shakespeare's texts with the new story being told.
I admit that I am a bit of a purist when it comes to Shakespeare - when I see one of his plays, I want to see it as he wrote it. I am not generally in favor of cutting or moving scenes, or otherwise adapting the Shakespeare text. That is not relevant here, however, because this is NOT a Shakespeare play. It is a modern day fictional tale using Shakespeare as a protagonist. The genius is in the way that Shakespeare's own poetry is worked so perfectly into the script. The film is good in any case, but if you have an appreciation for Shakespeare it really shines.