Shakespeare in Love Dir John Madden 15 123mins.

ACCORDING to the story told here, Shakespeare was having writer's block during the creation of Romeo and Ethel, a comedy about cross-dressing and a pirate's daughter.

He knew his inspiration would return should he fall in love, and promptly does so, thus inspiring him (on the advice of Christopher Marlowe) to change the plot of his play a little and the main character's names.

There we are. We know where we stand then with this by-no-means true account of an episode in the life of the world's greatest ever playwright. This is not your usual costume drama, rather a comedy of the highest quality with a plot of which the Bard himself would be proud.

Tom Stoppard is credited as one of the two writers of what will probably remain one of the best films of the year. Normally, he's a bit of a clever sod, who annoys. Here, however, he has his tongue wedged firmly in his cheek.

There's an unwritten rule when featuring people such as Shakespeare in dramas. Never, it states, have a scene in which, for instance, he is walking along a road and overhears one person shout "Romeo" while another replies "Yes, Juliet?". He should never then scratch his chin and say: "Romeo and Juliet, hmmm. There's a title for a play."

In Shakespeare in Love, that rule is broken with joyful abandon. Preachers shout out lines that will one day appear in his play. That other great Elizabethan playwright Marlowe suggests the entire plot for the story of the star-crossed lovers while they sit in a pub. Throughout, things happen, words are said and stories told that any semi-literate audience will recognise.

But this play will still entertain even if Shakespeare isn't your bag. Joseph Fiennes (Ralph's little bro') and Gwyneth Paltrow excel in the lead roles.

Fiennes is a roguish bard whose way with words leads to the ladies' hearts despite him having a family back in Stratford (check out the mug with A gift from Stratford-on-Avon written on it).

Paltrow, as his love Viola (as in Twelfth Night), puts in a powerful performance. Her English accent is incredible, no trace of an American drawl at all. Her comic timing is spot on as she dresses as a man to perform in his plays and has to act as a go-between as Will writes love-letters to Viola. It is all very...

Other famous faces include Ben Affleck (later to become Paltrow's real-life beau), Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Simon Callow and Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth. It is a cast that is reflected in the quality of the whole thing. At last, something decent to see at the flicks. Jeremy Austin

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.