Shakespeare in Love

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Genres - Drama, Romance, Comedy  |   Sub-Genres - Period Film, Romantic Comedy, Showbiz Comedy  |   Release Date - Dec 11, 1998 (USA)  |   Run Time - 123 min.  |   Countries - United Kingdom, United States  |   MPAA Rating - R
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Synopsis by Merle Bertrand

William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is on a cold streak. Not only is he writing for Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush), owner of "The Rose," a theatre whose doors are about to be closed by sadistic creditors, but he's got a nasty case of writer's block. Shakespeare hasn't written a hit in years. In fact, he hasn't written much of anything recently. Thus, the Bard finds himself in quite a bind when Henslowe, desperate to stave off another round of hot-coals-to-feet application, stakes The Rose's solvency on Shakespeare's new comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter." The problem is, "Romeo" is safely "locked away" in Shakespeare's head, which is to say that not a word of it is written. Meanwhile, the lovely Lady Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) is an ardent theatre-goer -- scandalous for a woman of her breeding -- who especially admires Shakespeare's plays and, not incidentally, Bill himself. Alas, she's about to be sold as property into a loveless marriage by her mercenary father and shipped off to a Virginia tobacco plantation. But not before dressing up as a young man and winning the part of Romeo in the embryonic play. Shakespeare soon discovers the deception and goes along with it, using the blossoming love affair to ignite his muse. As William and Viola's romance grows in intensity and spirals towards its inevitable culmination, so, too, does the farcical comedy about Romeo and pirates transform into the timeless tragedy that is Romeo and Juliet.

Characteristics

Keywords

playwright, actor, muse, queen [royalty], rehearsal, star-crossed-lovers, acting troupe, creative-block, theater, theater-troupe, love-triangle, opening-performance, confusion

Attributes

High Artistic Quality, High Production Values