Love is the greatest inspiration

Rating: 10/10 (20 April 2010)

What inspired William Shakespeare to create his most famous work: Romeo and Juliet? Probably we'll never know with complete certainty. Through years, people have imagined what was the creative process behind it and one of the most intriguing ideas is what if Shakespeare had a muse that helped him to write the most famous and tragic love story ever told. Based on this premise, screenwriter Marc Norman and the acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard play a little with historical facts to give us their own version of the story behind Romeo and Juliet.
London, 1593. Young Shakespeare is suffering a severe case of writer's block and he can't write anything. These are bad news for Phillip Henslowe, owner of The Rose (one of the most important playhouses of London at that time), who's in desperate need of a new play in order to pay his debts. In other part of the city, Lady Viola De Lesseps, daughter of a rich merchant is eager to be part of an acting company, even though women were not allowed to be on stage and let alone become actors. What they don't know is that destiny has a surprise for both of them: she will become his muse and will end up inspiring him to write again and he gives her a long-awaited opportunity by being part of the new play (although cheating a little since she has to dress herself as a man). But things won't be so easy for Viola, because she has been promised in marriage to Lord Wessex and she'll have to leave Will.
The screenplay offers us a completely different and fresh approach to Shakespeare and the Elizabethan period by choosing to explore a very risky field: the romantic comedy and the result could have been horrifying. Fortunately that never happens and instead we get a wonderfully charming and clever meditation about love as the greatest inspiration we'll ever find in life.
Also the acting is a pretty important element for the movie's success: all the actors deliver delightful performances, from Geoffrey Rush as Henslowe, Judi Dench (Oscar winner for this performance) as a complete scene-stealer Queen Elizabeth, Joseph Fiennes who gives Shakespeare a charisma that make people wonder if the real Shakespeare could have had and Gwyneth Paltrow, in her Oscar-winning performance as Viola, who assumes the risk of playing not one, but four characters and makes it in a wonderful way.
The production values, such as Sandy Powell's magnificent costume design, Stephen Warbeck's beautiful score also give the movie the necessary credibility and immerse the audience into a possibly not 100% historically accurate, but undeniably fantastic experience that makes us believe inspiration is possible to find.