Shakespeare In Love

Taking the writing process behind Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet as its inspiration, John Madden's follow-up to Mrs Brown combines contemporary humour with a convincing 16th-century setting. Young Will (Joseph Fiennes) falls for the soon-to-be-married Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) and casts her, disguised as a boy, as his Romeo. As their love affair unfolds, so does the play in a film that is passionate, intelligent and hysterically funny in turns. Fiennes and Paltrow are supported by an outstanding cast that includes Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson and Colin Firth, while Judi Dench delivers an Oscar-winning portrayal of Elizabeth I, making fine use of Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard's Oscar-winning script.

If movies be the food of love, then there's an excess of it in this delightful romantic comedy, a clever romp that makes witty use of theatrical conventions and Shakespeare's own works; it is not only in love with love, but with the power of theatre.