Romeo + Juliet

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Sorvino, Brian Dennehy, Paul Rudd, Jesse Bradford, Jamie Kennedy, M. Emmet Walsh
Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Romance
1996

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Despite the ongoing, violent feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, Romeo Montague (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Juliet Capulet (Claire Danes) fall in love. However, their love is threatened by the seething hate both groups have for each other.

Review:

Tim: Romeo + Juliet is certainly a different, interesting movie. Adapting William Shakespeare's works is definitely not new in Hollywood, but this film takes a novel approach. The story is given a modern day update- instead of Verona, we are in Verona Beach, and instead of swords and horses, we have guns and cars. However, despite the update, all the characters speak the very words that Shakespeare originally wrote. This gives the film a fresh, fascinating approach. I am not sure what it is about watching contemporary people speaking in such a strange manner (for us), but I really, really enjoyed it. I felt like it kept the heart of the original play, while giving audiences a more easily-relatable story, too.

This is not to say the film is flawless. Director Baz Luhrmann often whips up the pace to near-incomprehensible levels. Several scenes are shot so quickly, with the dialogue flying so fast, with cuts back-and-forth that it almost feels like a music video, instead of a movie. I appreciate the different technique, but I wish Luhrmann would have toned these scenes down a bit.

He does assemble a very good cast. Leonardo DiCaprio is absolutely the right actor to play Romeo. He is an intelligent, talented young man who looks younger than he is. He looks the part, but is also able to work well with the dialogue written by Shakespeare. I enjoyed him in this movie. I also liked Claire Danes. Danes has that fresh-faced innocence that Juliet needed. However, she has an underlying sense of maturity that also added to the role. Danes and DiCaprio work well together. I wouldn't say they had overwhelmingly strong chemistry, but they interacted well and I believed them as young lovers.

The supporting cast is pretty good. I liked John Leguizamo as Tybalt and Harold Perrineau as Mercutio. These two actors were absolutely right for theirs parts. They are good actors, and they really added to the film. I also liked that Luhrmann cast a Hispanic and an African-American in these two roles. It was a welcome departure from the original story, and it added to the 20th century feeling of the film.

Pete Postlethwaite, Brian Dennehy, and Paul Rudd were good, but their roles were too small to make much of a difference on the film. I suppose I liked Jesse Bradford, Jamie Kennedy, and M. Emmet Walsh, but again, they mostly just operated in the background. This really was DiCaprio and Danes' movie.

Luhrmann takes perhaps the world's greatest love story and gives it a nice modern twist. However, having the characters speak the original dialogue was an absolutely brilliant movie. It made Romeo + Juliet not just another Shakespeare adaptation, but something unique. It is not a perfect movie. Much of the longer dialogue of the original story was cut (I wouldn't have minded a few more lines added back in). Luhrmann's direction on occasion detracts as much as it adds. However, this is still an ambitious, appreciated effort. I did enjoy this movie, and it is a welcome surprise out of Hollywood.


Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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Titanic, A Midsummer Night's Dream