Review of Shakespeare in Love (1998) by Kyle20Ellis — 31 Mar 2022

Shakespeare in Love was a fantastic film in all departments. You cannot go wrong with the splendid locations and the wondrous costumes. The screenplay was superlative, very witty and moving, and one of the few screenplays out there that completely blew me away.

The direction from John Madden was spot on, and I believe it is the same John Madden who directed some of the greatest Inspector Morse episodes, and Inspector Morse in my opinion is the best British detective drama out there.

And what a talented cast, with Joseph Fiennes utterly charming and handsome as William Shakespeare, and Gwyneth Paltrow in possibly her best performance was by every means captivating as Lady Viola. Geoffrey Rush, who actually looks like the Barbossa character he created in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, was hilarious, and Colin Firth makes Lord Wessex intentionally insufferable.

Simon Callow, Martin Clunes and Ben Affleck are solid in their roles, not to mention the wonderful performance of Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth I. Her end monologue was beautifully written and Dench's interpretation was flawless.

I am 17, and I do hope I am not the only person who doesn't think this movie is overrated- I thought it was a brilliant film, that wholly deserved the accolades it received.