Stage Beauty (2004)

Just perfect...

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Ned Kynaston is the most beautiful "woman" of the London stage. This is the kind of role that I've always admired Billy Crudup for. He plays an actor in a time period (1600s) when only men were allowed to act on stage, even if the character portrayed is female. Kynaston is an actor so dedicated to his work that he has taught himself the graces of mime and can alter his masculine voice to sound like the most elegant and refined woman in the world. In his private life, he has a lover in the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Chaplin) who insists Kynaston don his wig when they "make a beast with 2 backs" in bed on the stage. On the sly, Kynaston's dressing assistant, Maria (Claire Danes) has been watching Kynaston's acting career and wishing she herself could not only be legally allowed to perform, but could do it with the same natural grace as Kynaston. She practices his mime, steals his beautiful frocks and wigs, and begins performing the very same role of Desdemona from Othello in a small nightspot in town. Things begin to go awry when it is discovered that Maria is acting illegally, but the King (Rupert Everett) is so moved by Maria's acting that he decides to reverse the ban on females acting on the stage. Kynaston, both jealous and angry that she has been stealing his thunder, screams in rage at Maria in front of the King's mistress, and suddenly is a disgraced man out of work. He gets beaten up by what I believe are 17th century bigots (I might be mistaken though.) After he recovers from his injuries, he tries to audition for a "male" role, but is unable to shake the habit of moving and speaking in feminine mannerisms. He flees in tears, and ends up being looked after in a boarding house by Maria. I really loved the "almost" love scene and the discussion that lead up to it. That's all I'll say for now. The movie never stops being entertaining, nor interesting to look upon, with its lavish costumes and production design. There is a scary moment towards the end that almost made me throw my laptop on the floor because I'd thought the movie was ruined, but luckily, I loved the film from beginning to end. Bravo!

If you are looking for another movie like "Shakespeare in Love", forget it: it's not here.True, there was a Charles II, Nell Gwynn, and Ned Kynaston; however, the viewer is left with characters who have little, if any, similarity to the historical persons. The Nell Gwynn as depicted in this film would never have been a favorite of the London playhouses nor Charles II. And the Ned Kynaston as he appears in Stage Beauty would have been performing in Bedlam rather than on Vere Street. Ned was not a basket case; rather, an accomplished actor.And Othello was not the subject that enthralled audiences of the Restoration era. Where is Wycherly's "Country Wife", or Etherege's "Love in a Tub"? The Restoration restored fun and sin, not tragedy, the stuff of Puritans and Pilgrims. The film fails to capture the spirit of the era: the joy of life on earth rather than in the after life.This film not only fails in historical accuracy. It also fails in creating believable characters. No, Virginia, gay men cannot be made heterosexual. That is a fantasy of gay men and the women who love them. Bisexual is a term used by those who are in a state of denial. This is the biggest failure of the film: the viewer cannot suspend disbelief.And at times I detected a bit of preachiness about woman's rights, feminism, etc, that I half expected to see Gloria Steinem appear on stage as Iago. Yeah, we know women can act: haven't we all been married and divorced? If you, too, are fed up hearing about gay and woman rights all the time, send your wife to the movie with her girl or gay friend, and stay home. Watching the New York Giants lose is less painful than watching this drivel.Other than perhaps Scotty Bowers, I am really at a loss as to who loved this film. The whole world may be a stage except for this film.Pass on this one unless you, too, are in a state of denial.

First of all, the film is one of the few that give detailed lifestyle of this early period in English history. You would think "a man plays a woman..that's a comedy" but it's not...it's a well made drama..These guys were celebrities back then. What got me the most was Billy Crudup's performance..this man can certainly act..I wish I could have some contact with him..I'd tell him "You are one of the best actors I've ever seen"...If I see him acting on a stage it would be great for sure.. Anyway..this is one of my best movies and certainly worth a watch. and yes it's an overlooked movie...like so many brilliant others.

I felt in love with this movie. I've even watched it twice in a day. Claire Danes was already one of my favorite actresses, and I thought Billy Crudup was a really good actor, but after watching Stage Beauty I just love him! His acting as someone fighting to discover his identity as a person and an actor and to keep his job is astonishing. The chemistry between him and Danes jumps out of the screen and I wasn't surprised (even though a little jealous of Danes) when I knew, here, that they become a real couple while making this movie. The story is dynamics, interesting, entertaining, engaging and surprising. A remarkable movie, really well done. And it's not, believe me, a clone of Shakespeare in Love. It's so much better than that movie and Dane's and Crudup's acting are really superior than Paltrow's and Fiennes's. I recommend it with enthusiasm.