Stage Beauty – Review
Edward ‘Ned’ Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is actor known for his roles as leading women in the 1660’s when it was illegal for women to be on stage. His career is destroyed when the king decrees that women can take to the stage and that is illegal for men to play the roles of women on stage, making Ned an anachronism. While at the same time his former dresser Maria (Claire Danes) who is secretly in love with him becomes a rising star in the theatre. Though Ned is out and Maria in; can love save the day?
Except for the two American leads the rest of STAGE BEAUTY’S cast is British as is the content of the film. The humour is dry and subtle fused with witty dialogue; many of the jokes can fly over the heads of those who are not alert or cerebrally inert.
The story is interesting and the performances captivating. STAGE BEAUTY is a film with a smooth flow that puts a smile on your face, a tingle in your brain and makes your inner romantic flutter.
CAST: Billy Crudup, Claire Daines, Tom Wilkinson, Rupert Everett, Ben Chaplin, Zoe Tapper, Edward Fox, Richard Griffiths, Claire Higgins, Tom Hollander, Hugh Bonneville, David Westhead, Stephen Marcus, Fenella Woolgar and Madeleine Worrall
DIRECTOR: George Fenton
RUNNING TIME: 109 minutes
AGE RESTICTION: 13 SL
GENRE: Period Romantic Drama
RELEASE DATE: 14 January 2005
RATING: 8/10
“Romantic Gender Bender Period Drama”
Review by Punjabi_Goth for Africasgateway.com
Submitted by: admin