The English Renaissance is in vogue in American cinema today. Film versions of the plays of William Shakespeare are currently being produced at an unprecedented rate and we are also witnessing an upsurge of interest in Shakespeare's era and his contemporaries - now, even in Shakespeare's own life. Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love - both released late in the last year - are two of the slew of recent films informed by this era, and they have some things in common: they both feature a sexy Joseph Fiennes playing a man who is married but nevertheless sleeping with a tall skinny light-haired woman, and both films feature Queen Elizabeth I - one in the first years of her reign (she came to power in 1558), the other in her later years (Shakespeare in Love takes place in 1593 and Elizabeth died in 1603). The similarities basically stop there, however.

Elizabeth is a gorgeous film to watch, and I really have to commend the costume crew for their lush, colorful, and historically accurate reproductions. The film deals in general historical truths: Protestants were persecuted and burned by the Catholic church under "Bloody" Queen Mary, Elizabeth was imprisoned by her sister but was nevertheless crowned queen upon her sister's death, Queen Elizabeth was wooed by many and did ultimately decide to remain (or portray the image of) a "Virgin Queen", for her own political safety. The men surrounding her in the film - her advisors, alleged lovers, etc. - were real historical characters, but the film surmises about much information which we simply will never know, in a very romanticized, simplified "Hollywood" manner. The film also deals in black and white, as the Catholic church is severely vilified and Elizabeth is portrayed as much more idealistic than she probably was. Shakespeare in Love also fills historical gaps in its plot - even more than does Elizabeth; however, in SIL this is done in a very different and, in my opinion, a much more edifying way.

The reason why there have not been other movies on the life of William Shakespeare - the most popular playwright in history - is because there is VERY little known about the actual details of the life of the man. This lack of knowledge has led to much surmise in the past, but mainly within academic circles; now, however we have a very fine film on the matter, provided by the Shakespeare enthusiast and amazing playwright Tom Stoppard, along with Marc Norman. The film does not take itself very seriously, and since most of the plot is surmise and even pure fantasy, this works well.

While SIL realistically portrays a somewhat seedy, bustling late 16th-century London and deals in historically accurate and interesting details like the "toothbrush" used by the fictional heroine Viola (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) and the thick makeup and brown teeth of Queen Elizabeth (played by the always amazing Judi Dench), it also throws in some humorous anachronisms. For one, in the pub where the actors gather there is a waiter telling the night's specials, and these meals seem to be early modern takes on 20th century "nouveau cuisine".

The social climate of the film also reflects its time: the haphazard and business-like manner in which plays were commissioned, composed, and produced - although sometimes farcial - is true to what we know of the time; the economic nature of Viola's betrothal and her powerlessness in the face of her father, her suitor, and even the Queen (who did indeed arrange and approve marriages between nobles) - while perhaps a bit exaggerated - also reflects historical reality. Judi Dench plays a down-to-earth, clever, and pragmatic Elizabeth (which she is reported to have been), and the confusion around the murder of playwright Christopher Marlowe works well, for the cause of his death is still debated today. The addition of a young (13 year old) John Webster hanging around the theater, spying, and talking about blood and guts is a wonderful touch; although it is not necessarily historically correct, it is humorous when we consider that Webster became a famous playwright in London in the next reign of King James, and his brand of Jacobean drama is notoriously marked by over-the-top intrigue, blood and gore.

The text of the film SIL and the film's progression are intimately entwined with the text and progressions of the plays with which it deals: throughout the film the text of "Romeo and Juliet" is ingeniously woven into the film's dialogue at the same time that the character Shakespeare writes the play and the films characters produce it; also, the fate of the (imaginary) heroine Viola, which includes sailing to a new land and surviving a shipwreck, reflects the beginning of Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night", and becomes his inspiration when he sits down to write this work at the film's end. This addition to the film ignores the fact that in 1593 English citizens were not yet sailing to the New World on personal ventures; however, since it enhances the film's structural unity, and since the film constantly winks at itself, this anachronism may be forgiven.