Lady Viola, Gwyneth Paltrow, is to marry Lord Wessex, but her passion is poetry, especially the poetry of William Shakespeare. Her passion drives her to dress up like a boy, since only males were allowed to perform on stage at that time. She loves Shakespeare's plays and desperately wants to bring a special vibrancy to them. Will Shakespeare, played by Joseph Fiennes, is fascinated by "the young man's" ability and wants "him" to play Romeo in his new play. After a period of time, Shakespeare discovers that "the boy" is his true love, Lady Viola. But they don't live happily ever after. Times were tough in those days and in spite of their passionate love for each other, they were accountable to higher powers.

From the visually impaired point of view: Although this picture had lots of dialogue, it was still, sad to say, very challenging. The usual beginning had very little dialogue along with a written introduction on the screen. I obviously needed my sighted assistant to read this to me. This movie had two main characters, but many other supporting characters which often made it difficult to follow. Lots of people constantly coming in and out. It's important to know ahead of time that Lady Viola plays the part of the young man; without this prior knowledge, the movie could be quite confusing. There were a number of chaotic scenes as well: scenes from plays, fight scenes, et cetera. On occasion the scene would quietly and abruptly change and then change back before you knew what happened. Very difficult for those of us without the use of our eyes.

I can barely give this movie a 5, but it was filled with emotion and still might be quite enjoyable, especially if you're a fan of Shakespeare.