Shakespeare in love, 1998

Shakespeare in Love, 1998
Director: John Madden,
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson, Judi Dench



Stage: Home theatre, late Saturday night.


Shakespeare in short; Will Shakespeare is a known but struggling poet, playwright and actor who not only has sold his next play to both Philip Henslow and Richard Burbidge but now faces a far more difficult problem: he is bereft of ideas and has yet to begin writing. He is in search of his muse, the woman who will inspire him but all attempts fail him until he meets the beautiful Viola de Lesseps. She loves the theatre and would like nothing more than to take to the stage but is forbidden from doing so as only men can be actors. She is also a great admirer of Shakespeare's works. Dressing as a man and going by the name of Thomas Kent, she auditions and is ideal for a part in his next play. Shakespeare soon see through her disguise and they begin a love affair, one they know cannot end happily for them as he is already married and she has been promised to the dour Lord Wessex. As the company rehearses his new play.


Preps: This is the oscar winner in huge sense. Took 7 statues and went to bed afterwards. One of the finests crew in terms of cast. One of the largest themes. MMMMMMMM. A swell selection on any night.


Reality: This is when too much poetry is turned into a poetic movie. I adore Shakespeare in whole, which means I have read virtually everything several times and know his words by heart. However, I am aware how many people there are with mere respect to the name (personal name) and none so ever knowledge about his work. Therefore it's a great challenge to put the poetry into a movie genre, yet alone to put it into a script.
The cast is amazing. Paltrow is amazing, the same goes for Wilkinson and Fiennes. Dench doesn't surprise me, because I am her fan anyway and know she's a great actor, even without the ironic black humour touch she has here. I believe those roles suit her well, however she exceeds any expectations here and goes beyond excellent.
The costumes /costumography is worth more than mentioning. They did an exquisite job with the roles and the wardrobe for them. Also, the music more than suits the suite chosen for each section of the movie. Scenography, applause. The scenes are filmed on a square that looks just like you would be there. The language spoken, also. For a fan of Shakespeare, this might be a kind of an insult, however, it is a well and carefully chosen language and the script, suitable for a movie, therefore I am more than satisfied and I enjoy the scenes, especially when the two lovers express love to each other thru rhymes.
There is a reason, why some movies get the awards, however in some cases you are awkwardly surprised, like in this year, 2012. Well, Shakespeare gets what he deserves. The main flow and the story revolves around love, obviously. You get a glimpse of Shakespeare's life and you like the man for his looks and words. Obviously charm. I wonder if the real guy really posessed it. Usually great artists are only a prism through which their heart is revealed (through their work and not as persons). The love he has is forbidden, and vice versa. Seems that the story of Romeo and Juliet gets inspiration along the way, with the development in real life, the story is written. Awfully romantic :) I just love it. The spirit you get from the two and the desperation in terms of getting to know one's duty and the need to follow your heart as opposed to what the queen told you to.. it's breathtaking and gets a tear or two from my heart as well.




My personal rating: 8,0 (my genre, my poems, my kind of a movie to breathe through any night. Love it. )


Shakespeare on IMDB

The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind, 2004

The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004
Director: Michel Gondry
Cast: Jim Carey, Kate Winslet,Tom Wilkinson


Stage: Home Theatre
The Sunshine in short:Joel is stunned to discover that his girlfriend Clementine has had her memories of their tumultuous relationship erased. Out of desperation, he contracts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwaik, to have Clementine removed from his own memory. But as Joel's memories progressively disappear, he begins to rediscover their earlier passion. From deep within the recesses of his brain, Joel attempts to escape the procedure. As Dr. Mierzwiak and his crew chase him through the maze of his memories, it's clear that Joel just can't get her out of his head.

Preps: I have seen this movie several times. Find it a classic and a good way to think about what you do in life. The choices you make. A good way to spend a Friday evening.



Reality: Up to what extent are we remembering or better put, trying to keep the memory? According to some theories, in a long run, you don't remember the good stuff, you tend to remember the bad things. Therefore, if you have a bouncy relationship, which ends in fury, you will remember after a while, only the things you fought about. And after years and years, maybe a vague memory will serve as a mere reminder of what have you done wrong. Or how it went down the drain.

Now, this movie implies something completely different. That the good times are stashed somewhere subconsciously. Yes, the memory reminders, such as the things you have done together, the photos, the quotes you both spoke, nick names, dolls you bought together, those reminders will take you back to a good memory. This is why most women (and some men also) just stash those things in a box and bury it, throw it away, clean the appartement from those reminders. How about cleaning your soul, subconscious thoughts, things that chase you in your dreams? The procedure, shown in a movie, is a bit similar to losing weight by going to a place where they suck your fat. It makes you thin in a second, but what a waste to one's mind - you don't get to grow by experience, because you pay that an experience is skipped and afterwards, mostly, unappreciated present state of mind, makes you forget about the path (obviously, because you haven't had one to remember about).

Building a relationship is stated of many moments, that collide in a story. After ending it, they collapse in fragments that appear every now and then in your imagination. Either good or bad, they are here. They chase you while you are being alone at night, wondering, what the hell went wrong and how did I succeed not noticeing it. So, a perfect solution appears in this piece, just erase the bloody memories. It will all restart, and your brains will not be damaged any more with you wondering around, thinking how good it was and how crappy everything is right now.

The only problem the human race might have with this, that in many cases emotions suck the sane part of your mind. For instance, erasing your own memories just because your ex decided to do so (for some sort of a vengeance reason) is purely emotional factor and shouldn't in this case make the doer any happier. She doesn't know him anymore and it will only serve the desperation Joel has when thinking of the daring idea she got into motion with erasing everything they did, who they were, every fragment that involved him. In some sense, the easier way. Like a suicide. The easiest way to solve problems. And definitely coward-full, in terms of it's harder to cope with your trouble and accept responsibility than to just end it up. In this piece, erase it.

Humans tend to change their minds. Just what if you took the wrong pill (Matrix) and you want to exit? In this dream, no way. Still, Joel finds a lucid way in his procedure of erasing and knows he's dreaming. A conscious decision to escape the procedure makes this sf movie tremendously adventurous and romantic at the same time. Does he escape the things that are buried in his soul? In his dreams firstly he realizes they are dreams and memories that are about to go blunt, and then he creates another dream within a dream (the Inception from last year holds the same candle in its red line). In those dreams, supposeably cannot be found. The acknowledgement, that he per se, doesn't want to lose the memories at all, is breathtaking, as we watch him fall deeper and deeper, desperately seeking a place where he can hide with his Clementine.


Brilliant work from Carey and Winslet. Excellent exposure of the director's mind. A movie, worth all the attention it got and worth re-seeing again and again. Sad, romantic story about the essence of ourselves and up to what point we want to torture ourselves or live in a dream. And up to what extent the memories of a beloved person reach.



My personal rate: 9,5 (a brilliant "relationship" piece, worth every second of screening).

The Sunshine on IMDB