Having just opened at packed theaters in Los Angeles and New York, Shakespeare in Love is a Miramax films release by director John Madden, starring Ben Affleck, Oscar(r) winner Geoffrey Rush, former Oscar(r) nominee Judi Dench, with Joseph Fiennes as Will Shakespeare (yes, that Will Shakespeare!) and Gwyneth Paltrow as his lady-love, Viola De Lesseps. An uncredited Rupert Everett plays the great writer and all-around literary genius Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (what a stretch!); in the 1590's, it was Marlowe, not Shakespeare, who was the most celebrated playwrite of the day.
Our reviewer, Christian Leopold Shea, says that the capper to his On-Line Review (when he finally writes it!) will be: "There were about four empty seats in the (large) theater where I saw it. If you can't get a ticket or if you hate crowds, remember that Tuesday is usually the slowest day for movie ticket sales in the USA. See Shakespeare in Love on a Tuesday . . . then go see it again."
11 January 1999: People unclear of what "see it on Tuesday" signifies haven't been following our reviewer's advice, it seems. Tuesday is usually the best day on which to go see a super-popular movie. Those of you who are haven't seen Shakespeare in Love yet and think you'll be able to get a ticket on a weekend may be sadly disappointed: weeks after it's Los Angeles opening, performance after performance is sold out on the weekends. Since Shakespeare in Love stands an excellent chance of winning Oscars© for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and possibly a few others, dedicated movie-goers should see it. And if you can't get a ticket on the weekend . . . see it on Tuesday!
(Need we add that our review here is going to be EXTREMELY positive? The Shea-man thinks the film may be nominated as Best Picture in many awards competitions. He suggests, however, that anyone unfamiliar with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet read it first, or see the play, or see a movie version of it, because Shakespeare in Love is loaded with references to it, and anyone who isn't familiar with Romeo and Juliet will miss most of the jokes in the film. For the benefit of those who aren't hep to the jive on Tudor and Jacobean theatre, he also says that viewers should know three other things before seeing the movie: first, it was illegal for women to appear in plays in Elizabethan England; second, nasty little John Webster eventually wrote The Dutchess of Malfi, a real "blood and thunder" play; third, Christopher Marlowe wrote the plays Tamerlane, and Doctor Faustus, which contains the famous line about Helen of Troy, "Is this the face that launched a thousand ships, and burnt the topless towers of Ilium?" Ned Aleyn (Ben Affleck) starred in both.)
Watch here for a full review REAL SOON. Sandy Powell's design for the costumes may snag another Oscar® nomination for her (she also designed the costumes in Velvet Goldmine, which is also from Miramax, so her bases are covered). In the meantime, all you Affleckphiles should thank Miramax's Karen Paul for sending us advance pix!
