Movie #694 .........................Stage Beauty

Movie #694 "Stage Beauty" is a beauty of a film which I found most enjoyable. But, of course, I would be the target audience for this movie about doing plays during Shakespearian times. "Othello" is the play du jour here, and it has always been done up until now (as all of the plays) with a male Desdemona --- what happens when a female dresser of this male Desdemona pines to be on stage doing it herself? But there's much more to this film --- it has some complex issues, including the love story, and it's intriguing from beginning to end. It is very talky, the acting is very stylistic of the times (i.e. pretentious when doing the stage acting), and they speak quickly , but it's well worth the listening you need to do to see this. If you are interested in theatre, and you want to get a flavor of what it was like during those times , this is one you want to see. Very capable director, and I even sat and watched all the special features. I gave this 4 out of 5 stars Stage Beauty2004R109 minutes Edward "Ned" Kynaston (Billy Crudup), England's most celebrated leading "lady," becomes a nonentity practically overnight when Charles II allows women to tread the boards, decreeing that men may no longer play women's parts. Ned built his career by making the greatest female roles his own. But to become a real man again, he'll need assistance from a willing woman -- his ex-dresser, Maria (Claire Danes). Cast:Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Rupert Everett, Tom Wilkinson, Ben Chaplin, Hugh Bonneville, Richard Griffiths, Edward Fox, Zoe Tapper, Claire Higgins, Tom Hollander Genre:Romantic Comedies, Romantic Dramas, Pre-20th Century Period Pieces, Romance