In 1593 Shakespeare wrote some of his most erotic sonnets, and soon afterwards, in 1594, he wrote one of the world's greatest romantic tragedies, Romeo and Juliet . But it seems that Will is suffering from writer's block. In fact, the title is all that he has thus far, and even the title needs some obvious work. The story itself might be set in Elizabethan period England, but many of the concerns are the same ones we face nowadays. Commercialism constantly threatens to undermine the artistic endeavors.
Feuds abound between playwrights and theaters.
And children prefer plays that contain liberal doses of blood. As the movie's title indicates, Norman and Stoppard have taken a mischievous slant on the material. That's maybe the most enjoyable part of this movie. Soon he begins reeling off large chunks of what will in fact become the plot of Romeo and Juliet . Of course, the filmmakers don't necessarily mean for us to take any of this very seriously.