Date: Fri 15-Jan-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Playing-Shakespeare-Paltrow

Full Text:

NOW PLAYING: "Shakespeare" That, Like The Writer, Is Intended For Most

By Trey Paul Alexander III

"Come on, read it, you'll like it." "Go ahead, it's good for you." Such

refrains are often commonplace for your friendly neighborhood high school

teacher, imploring his or her students to digest Shakespeare as if they were

Mikeys being urged to eat Life cereal.

Romeo and Juliet is often used as an entry into the Shakespearian experience,

and a certain ninth grader was first exposed to the legendary drama as it was

companioned with the musical, West Side Story, to help make the play more

accessible. English teachers of today might also use portions of Baz

Luhrmann's feature film Romeo+Juliet , featuring heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio

and Claire Danes, to infuse the written page with life. Now comes Shakespeare

in Love, by no means a classroom primer on the Bard and his Romeo and Juliet ,

but one of the liveliest, most approachable observations on Shakespeare yet

filmed, and a vivid reminder that the playwright was not meant for the high

bred or well read, but for everyone.

The setting is London, 1593, and young Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is

laboring to complete a play for beleaguered Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush),

the owner of the Rose Theatre and constant recipient of harassment from his

impatient creditors. Henslowe needs a play -- preferably a crowd-pleasing,

profitable one -- and he needs it now. Unfortunately, Will has a bit of

writer's block; the story in his head, tentatively titled, " Romeo and Ethel,

the Pirate's Daughter, is locked away where he can't access it. He figures the

only way to get his creative juices flowing is to find his muse, a lovely

young lass who will set his creativity ablaze. Enter the luminous Viola De

Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), a frequent theatergoer and unabashed lover of the

stage. Yet, it is Viola who first gazes dreamily upon the soulful writer, and

when word arises of auditions for his new work, she takes on the guise of a

man -- for women were not allowed on stage in those days -- in order to act in

his new play.

As "Thomas," Viola wins the part of Romeo, and as herself, she steals the

heart of the now unfettered writer, who finds more than the sun to light his

imaginations... he has found the inspiration and light of his life. But alas,

their fantasy of love together is not meant to be: Viola, and her fortunes,

have been promised by her father to another suitor; and Will is already

married, with a wife and kids in Stratford-on-Avon. Will and Viola's

relationship is doomed to a tragic ending, one that will forever change the

romantic comedy that was originally conceived by the playwright.

Shakespeare in Love succeeds on so many levels, from an accessible springboard

into the world of Shakespeare, an in-joke filled frolic for Shakespeare

students, to a well-devised tragic romance. In fact, it is so cleverly

conceived that its one flaw is overly randy, R-rated material that, although

probably fairly true to its setting, keeps it from being wholly appropriate

for the wider audience it is due. With just a few judicious edits, it could

serve as a valuable primer not only to Shakespeare's writings, but to the

world in which he lived and wrote.

Still, Shakespeare in Love is a triumph for director John Madden ( Mrs Brown

), screenwriters Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, and a cast of superb actors --

including Rush, Fiennes, Tom Wilkinson and Ben Affleck, among others -- who

give sterling performances. Yet chief among those performers are Judi Dench,

reunited with director Madden and sterling as Elizabeth I, and Paltrow, who is

captivating as the determined Viola. She may have glimmered as the lead in the

under-appreciated Emma , but here she seems to literally glow onscreen and

makes it apparent why Viola could animate the pen of the Bard and why the

actress has a shot to conquer Oscar in March.