While Shakespeare is in love, I'm in love with this delightful gem

Rating: 10/10 (17 September 2012)

This romance comedy is both intently hilarious and artfully touching, which is very hard to pull it off at the same time in any comedy.
The most credit should go to the screenwriters (who won the Oscar for the Best Original Screenplay) of the movie. They were able to accomplish this rare gem because of their masterful play of duality.
The plot builds on two intertwining developments: First, Shakespeare's in love with Viola de Lesseps; second, the production of Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet .
These two developments are weaved into a tight and intertwining story through the dual identities of Viola and the dual roles (on and out of stage) of everyone involved in the production. And the uniting thread is the plot of Romeo and Juliet known to everyone.
The director and the actors did wonderful job to deliver a perfect timing in many those hilarious moments created by those dualities.
The movie is delightfully fast-paced (a lot of running, and even fightingâ€”on or off the stage), and potently lean (no excessive dialogues or unnecessary scenes). Even the complicated scene like the party, which Shakespeare first met Viola, is done with efficiency and simplicity.
Besides the great performance by Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes, Collin Firth was wonderful in Lord Wessex role. I thought he should won the Best Supporting Actor award (he was not even nominated!)
For any lovers of the Shakespeare's plays, this movie delivers an extra layer of delight and intimacy.