Director: John Madden*
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth
Have I Seen it Before: Oh, sure. It’s surprising to realize I haven’t re-watched this one since starting these reviews nearly 2 1/2 years ago.
Did I Like It: There’s just something about Best Picture winners fro the late 1990s. They age very poorly. I’m mainly looking in your direction, American Beauty (1999). This one, too gets a little bit of derision, but as I’ve already mentioned, it is one of my favorites.
Repackaging the bard as a the prototypical romantic comedy lead works in spades. Doing so gleefully unravels the film from anything resembling historical accuracy, but if you need movies to be historically accurate, I’m beginning to think you don’t get much enjoyment out of life, and that you are perpetually disappointed by your unrealistic expectations of the world. Scenes of the author struggling with his work similarly likely have no basis in reality, but they feel true, which is all we can ask from a film.
Sure, just the mention of Harvey Weinstein makes one’s blood run cold. Also, it’s hard to forget during the film that much of it is centered on a performance from a performer now is now arguably more famous for producing and selling candles which smell like her genitals. On that note, both Paltrow and Affleck do just above Costner-level work to convince us they’re English. It doesn’t help matters. But these are nitpicks—except for the Weinstein part—of a movie that largely holds up and is definitely worth another look.
* No matter how many times I see this movie, I always chuckle as I imagine the famed footballman calling the shots. For the record, I know it is a different John Madden.