ROMEO & JULIET REVIEW

                                                         ROMEO & JULIET REVIEW




I enjoyed this film, even though I have seen the film a couple of times, I was mainly looking closely at the elements the director has put into the modernised adaptation, E.G. Language, Theme and Setting. Also I was looking at the different types of camera shots that were used within this film that make it bold and vigorous. The film is set in the gangs and gun culture of Verona Beach, the Capulets and the Montagues are two rival corporate dynasties with generations of hatred behind them. Whilst watching this film I was thinking  of ideas that I could use for my Shakespeare piece, not language but mainly Theme & Setting because I've realised that it's going to be quite difficult to modernise me & Prince and we have only come up with 4 ideas. The language used throughout this film is understandable and for those who find it difficult reading Shakespearian texts (Including myself) have a chance to explore more of Shakespeare's works.

In this film dialogue is shouted unintelligibly, while the rest is recited dutifully, as in a secondary school production. What I didn't like about the film which I found really off putting was Mercutio dressed up as woman performing on stage, dancing with Romeo. A black man in bright silver high heels, with lip gloss signing 'Young Hearts Run Free' (By Kym Mazelle). I do take my hat to the actor having to take that risk because if it was I was given something to do like that, I don't think I could pull it off, but the fact that it was a black guy is like 'Oh my God'- if it was a white guy playing this role it's understandable. To be honest it is very rare nowadays that you see a black man portray a woman except from those top Hollywood movie stars such as Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Chris Tucker and so on.

THIS = NEVER TO BE SPOKEN ABOUT AGAIN! :@



Another thing I like about this film is that the melodic storytelling and dramatic performances don't seem to be out of place in this tragic film and it keeps to the original text by maintaining the language which in its form sounds poetic, the story has however been updated to suit today's audience. I think Leonardo DiCaprio & Claire Danes did an excellent job playing the lead roles and it was very clever of the director to give both of them the main parts, since Leo & Clare were highly rated as the most attractive male and female during the 90s. Also they even look the part, E.G. Clare Danes as a 14 year old Juliet with her youthful features and innocent eyes but most importantly she plays the part very well almost flawlessly capturing Juliet's distressing journey from childhood to womanhood. On the other hand Leo was almost equally impressive portraying Romeo and some of his reactions of Shakespeare made me think about things he did to tackle this challenging role but throughout the film he was fine. What I really liked is that DiCaprio captured the intensity of Romeo's emotions incredibly well because Romeo is brash & impulsive with an inclination to act on the heat of the moment rather than to first consider the situation like the more level-headed Juliet.

The other actors were also great and they wonderfully portrayed their characters as Shakespeare intended. Except for that one part of the film with Mercutio dressed up as a woman dancing I think that actually spoilt the essence of this film but overall I still enjoyed his performance.

Even though the story of Romeo & Juliet has been told many times, what I liked is that the director kept the idea fresh by using a mixture of fast editing and choreographed fight scenes, which wouldn't look exactly the same as a John Woo action film. This also combines a brilliant soundtrack with a stunning backdrop of 'Verona Beach'. From the beginning to the end of this film it would keep you interested and engaged throughout, due to the explosive beginning with the Capulets & Montague's shooting at each other at the petrol station and the tragic deaths of Romeo & Juliet.  

The camera work in this when it comes to certain parts especially dark parts of the film was quick and choppy which adds to the power and ever present depressing atmosphere. All of these camera shots were strong, with Clare Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio having an amazing chemistry. DiCaprio wan't popular at the time the film was shot and generally people can't say that he was the best male actor they have ever seen to play Romeo. Danes was emotionally connected in her role and out of the films she has done throughout her career this is one of her best. Also with the camera work, most of the transitions came at the right right time and the amount of close ups that was used on the characters was very effective especially in the bit when Mercutio gets killed by Tybalt that scene I think was the most powerful scene because of the way how Mercutio reacted to what Tybalt was saying was so strong and it gave me a better understanding of the type of character Mercutio is. Also the suspense leading to Mercutio's death again was powerful leaving me clueless and kept me thinking to myself ''Shouldn't he just die already ?'' because after he was shot by Tybalt he just went into this long dialogue/monologue and pretending that he is not hurt. To be honest I think this part of this scene was the strongest bit, the Mercutio actor in particular did a brilliant job doing a powerful dramatic death, giving us a clear understanding of Mercutio as well as he understood himself and his thought process throughout this scene and the film.

Throughput the film there is a number of great themes that create symbols and represent the film - E.G. The bright colours, immaculate hearts and religious symbols like crosses. Out of those three themes the religious symbols makes reference back to Shakespearian period on how Catholics followed every teaching from the bible and things they were against such as adultery and homosexuals. The use of pop music and a bit of Gospel when all these themes came up made it effective and exciting to watch, when it came to the scene when Romeo & Juliet get married with that little kid singing ''When Doves Cry'' was quite clever because the fact that it was little black boy that sang a cover for this song brought a nice vibe to this scene and to the whole film which would make more people want to watch this.

When we finished watching the film there were a few things that I picked up on in the film that I liked, which were, Setting, Language and Theme. Those are my three main ones but what I also liked was there emotional connection with there characters and the way how they deliver there lines with that intensity, instead of just playing it in a Classical way, by doing that it made us understand what they were saying. Also what I liked is how the Montagues and Capulets marked and separated themselves, E.G. clothing, tattoos (Especially on their necks-Montagues) and politics. 


Overall I enjoyed the film, out of 10 I would give it an 8 :)