arloGet the app
1998 · Movie · 2h 4m · R

Shakespeare in Love

CriticsCritics: 90
AudienceAudience: 7.3

In Elizabethan London, a struggling playwright racing to finish a new comedy finds inspiration when a noblewoman secretly auditions for the stage. Their forbidden romance, theatrical ambitions, and the pressures of rival playhouses gradually reshape his unfinished work into something far more passionate and dramatic.

My take

You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a witty, romantic period comedy with theatrical energy and playful Shakespeare references; Not for you if you prefer tightly realistic history or weightier drama.

Ask me more about it

Where to watch

Cast

Gwyneth PaltrowJoseph FiennesGeoffrey RushTom WilkinsonJudi DenchImelda StauntonColin FirthBen Affleck

Director

John Madden

If tonight is a Shakespeare in Love night…

…these live in the same corner of my head.

Want one picked out for tonight?

Tell me what kind of night it is — I'll do the rest.