| It's 16th century London under
the reign of Queen Elizabeth (Judi Dench, The Shipping News, Tea with
Mussolini). Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is broke and a struggling playwright
looking for his muse. Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow, Possession,
The Royal Tenenbaums) is a young noblewoman who loves the theater and dreams
of acting. But in Elizabethan England, women were not allowed to act, and young
men took on the roles of women on stage. This doesn't stop Viola, as she dresses
up as a man, and "Thomas" lands the role of Romeo in "Romeo and
Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter." At the same time, Viola falls in love with
Will, although she is to marry a Lord in a loveless arranged marriage, and he
already has a wife in Stratford. By night, Will and Viola carry on a clandestine
love affair. By day, Will and Thomas rehearse, and Will is inspired to write the
masterpiece of "Romeo and Juliet." No lesbian content. In fact,
this is a love story between Viola and Will, but it makes this list because of
the cross dressing character of Thomas. Also stars Geoffrey Rush and Ben Affleck
(Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike
Back, Gigli). Both Paltrow and Dench won Oscars for their performances.
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