Wonderful

Rating: 10/10 (23 August 1999)

When I give reviews on films or when I tell family or friends about films, I like to go into detail of why I liked each character, the writing, the actors' performance, etc...
With "Shakespeare in Love", I can't do that here. Why? Because I would ramble and go on typing forever. This is, to put it simply, an outstanding film. Sure, there are aspects of the historical time that didn't jive, but this film was meant to entertain, not to give us a history lesson.
I have read the many works of Shakespeare, and in particular I have read and re-read and re-read Romeo and Juliet. Still, in the closing minutes of "Shakespeare in Love" I still found myself starting to shed a tear. Norman and Stoppard paralleled the relationship between Shakespeare / Viola and Romeo / Juliet probably more than was really the case, and it was masterful. The performances of the leading couple were breathtaking. The ... see? Here I go...I KNEW I shouldn't have gotten into it. :o)
The film is wonderfully done. Although when the trailer was first aired and I wanted to see it very badly, the first time I actually saw it was on DVD. That is one disc that I'm extremely happy I bought. I'm just sorry I waited so long.
Bravo.
RATING: 5 out of 5