Excruciatingly Overrated

Rating: 4/10 (6 August 1999)

I hate this film with a burning passion! There is no way that I will ever appreciate one aspect about this movie, from beginning to end I was stunned by just how dull, uninvolving and pointless it was. There is no reason why it had to be made, what are the film makers trying to prove, that William Shakespeare had sex too? I do admire Shakespeare's work, and I do believe that he is probably the best play writer in history, but if someone was going to make a sem-fictional film about his life, they could of at least made it moving and engaging, qualities completely absent here. The 1999 Academy Awards made a dreadful mistake by naming this Best Picture instead of "Saving Private Ryan", which was an immensely better film in so many ways. Just watching 5 seconds of it would be more entertaining than watching "Shakespeare in Love"'s entire length. But aside from all my negative comments, I can't deny the fact Joseph Fienne's performance as Shakespeare was excellent, and Gwyneth Paltrow's portrayal as his lover was fine as well, but it was far from being Oscar worthy. Cate Blanchette's performance as Queen Elizabeth was definitely better than Paltrow's, it's just a shame that the Academy made so many bad choices. A truly disappointing film.