Stage Beauty

Stage Beauty

78% Liked It
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Stage Beauty

Ben Chaplin, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Claire Higgins, Edward Fox

It's the 1660s, and Edward 'Ned' Kynaston is England's most celebrated leading lady. Women are forbidden to appear on stage and Ned profits, using his beauty and skill to make the great female roles h...( read more  read more... )is own. But King Charles II is tired of seeing the same old performers in the same old tragedies. Since no one will take him up on his suggestion to improve Othello with a couple of good jokes, he decides to liven the royal palate by allowing real women to tread the boards. In a slightly less progressive spirit, he rules that men may no longer play women's parts. This is good news for the monarch's mistress, the saucy, stage-struck Nell Gwyn. It is also good news for Maria, Kynaston's lovelorn young dresser who has been secretly performing at a seedy tavern in lavish costumes borrowed from her employer. It is very bad news for Ned, who plummets from his exalted position as one of London's most desirable females to become a virtual nobody, virtually overnight. Cast out of the spotlight, Ned seems headed for burlesque obscurity until Maria, now a rising star, takes it upon herself to make a man of him again.

Id: 6760658

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Recent Reviews


  • September 29, 2009
    Stage Beauty is another adaptation of a play. Yawn? Well don't, because it also happens to make a highly successful transition from stage to screen thanks to the genius that is director Richard Eyre.

    It tells the tale of Ned (Billy Crudup), a young actor who specialises in portr...( read more)aying women on stage. In a world where only men are allowed to tread the boards, Ned's "Desdemona" (from Shakespeare's Othello) is the closest thing 17th century audiences get to femininity in theatre. However, a young upstart in the form of Maria (played by Clare Danes) wants to change all that. She has a passion for drama and unfortunately the bisexual Ned. With the help of King Charles II (Rupert Everett), she may just get her wish, changing theatre forever, and hopefully pick up Ned on the way.

    When thinking of the themes of the film, many people dismiss it as a clone of Shakespeare in Love. This is unfair- the film is more thought provoking, substantial and better acted than the aforementioned Oscar snaffler. It explores themes of sexuality and gender with insight and intelligence as well as telling (and, in fact enthralling us with) a love story. As previously referred to, the acting is exceptional, especially the two leads (Danes and Crudup) who shine. The supporting cast is strong too, with Richard Griffiths as a heterosexual prequel to his role in Withnail and I, Tom Wilkinson brimming with quiet intensity as Betterton and Everett hamming it up wonderfully as the King.

    Even if it does end on a slightly trite note (not to give too much away, but its' "birth of method acting" shtick irritates), Stage Beauty is a funny, heart-warming and occasionally quite cerebral meditation on love and art. What more could any theatre, or film lover for that matter, want? And don't say Shakespeare In Love!
  • August 18, 2007
    This was very clever where women could not be on the stage and how one mans jealousy. Slowly transitions to love and acceptance. A nice period piece with a heartful story.
  • March 6, 2007
    An annoying, pretentious, anemic drama about awkwardly-utilized crossdressing and Claire Danes. These two things spell certain doom for your movie, especially when used in tandem.

    Everyone in this movie sounds as if they inhaled helium and put on the most obnoxious accent conce...( read more)ivable to the human ear. Try listening to that for an hour and a half.
  • March 3, 2009
    A little too Shakespeare in Love but it's really fun and very romantic.
  • April 21, 2007
    This is one of those movies whose plot is just bizarre enough to make it look interesting. Thankfully, the writing and the cast were up to the task and produced a truly enjoyable film. Good stuff...
  • November 2, 2009
    I wasn't expecting much from this movie. It was surprisingly good. Nothing earth-shattering, but there were some really nice moments and ideas.
  • May 5, 2009
    Colourful, well-cast period piece doesn't completely convince us that its central character and his sexual confusion is all that interesting, but it saved by the incredible performance of Crudup and his chemistry with Danes.
  • March 27, 2009
    I loved the whole blurring of gender lines. It makes me wonder what would it be like to live in such a world. I often think about Aristophanes' speech in Plato's Symposium.
  • March 14, 2009
    Had a little bit of everything. Comedy, Drama, Romance. It may even be better than Shakespeare In Love, but it's hard to beat a love scene that invovles reciting Romeo and Juliet to one another while making love.
  • January 12, 2009
    I thought this was a neat film. Crudup is really good.

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