great performances and stunning costume design

Rating: 6/10 (31 March 2008)

"shakespeare in love" is, at its core, nothing more than a standard romance movie. furthermore, like most movies about artists or works of art, fictional or not, it suffers from trying to explain genius. but "shakespeare in love" is raised above mediocrity by all-around good performances and stunning costume design. Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow are adorable as star-crossed lovers, and they get fantastic support by the comical Geoffrey Rush and the dashingly handsome Ben Affleck. the best performance, though, comes from Judi Dench who has a short but delicious turn as queen Elizabeth. all in all, a better than average romance movie and a must see for fans of period costumes.