Something for everyone -- Five Stars

Rating: Null/10 (22 January 1999)

We are taken via the medium of the cinema to the Elizabethan era where women are forbidden to act and playwrights are the struggling authors of their day. The cast of Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Afleck, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush and Judi Dench comes across as the ideal selection for this movie. The story attempts to answer the questions of how Bill Shakespeare came up with the classic, "Romeo and Juliet." According to screenwriters Tom Stoppard and Marc Norman, the Bard of Stratford-on-Avon came up with very little of it himself, borrowing freely from locals.
Gwyneth Paltrow plays Viola who longs for the chance to be an actress, in a time when all roles are portrayed by men. Joseph Fiennes plays a suffering Will with writers' block. Of course, he falls for Viola who also auditions for the role of Romeo in his production. The plot thickens and is spiced by the wonderful iambic pentameter of "Romeo and Juliet." There is just enough of the original play which will be familiar, but not too much so that younger audiences will be bored or annoyed. The performances by the cast are fine all around. Miss Paltrow is becoming a star with a charisma that lights up the wide screen. Joseph Fiennes, brother to Ralph, adds to the romantic chemistry and makes you believe he is the young Shakespeare. Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth is welcome and interesting in light of the concurrent film of her story, "Elizabeth", portrayed by Cate Blanchett during her earlier years.
Shakespeare in Love has a little for everyone, humor, romance, fine language, good acting, and something often rare in today's films, a good old-fashioned story.