Review of Stage Beauty (2004) by Katie R — 17 Mar 2005

Holy Cow! - I had forgotten how hot Billy Crudup is; not to mention how great of an actor! Both Claire Danes and Billy Crudup do a great job with characters that are constantly changing throughout the film.

There is a main theme throughout the film of finding your identity, and whether or not the way you act or are perceived on the outside affects who you are on the inside. The main character, Ned Kinniston (Billy Crudup) is a Shakesperean actor in London circa the mid-1600s, who always plays a woman, and is threatened by Margaret Hughes (Claire Daines) and the other women who begin acting after the King proclaims it legal for a woman to act.

It also deals with the question of whether or not masculinity can be beautiful. I love at the end of the film when Kinniston really asserts himself and takes control of the situation; his masculinity in that situation is very attractive.

Guys be warned however....if you haven't figured it out already, this is very much a chick flick. The entire movie is about the profession of acting, and a sensitive bisexual man finding his identity.