Wahoo! I have officially hit my 300 movie target at The Quayside Review with this one. Again.
Said target started as 150 new movies in January, yet I had to boost the target several times because Coronavirus has left us all with a lot more free time than usual. So, what have I learned?: Don’t bother with a target. As of now, I’ll simply continue to watch (and review!) movies that I’ve never seen before, whilst still keeping a tally of course. Then, in 2021, I’ll simply start again from zero. Targets, be damned!
Onto the matter at hand…
Romeo + Juliet – don’t expect to be shocked here – is based on the 16th century tragedy by William Shakespeare. We all know the plot, but I’ll provide a quick summary anyway for the sake of tradition. In short, two families are sworn enemies: the Montagues on one side, the Capulets on the other. When Romeo and Juliet meet by chance at a ball, the pair of them fall in love. This is the original ‘love at first sight’, basically. Of course, as their families are so adverse to one another, this doesn’t go down too well, and they forge a plan to run away together.
Baz Luhrmann is the guy behind other great films such as Moulin Rouge, and this is no exception to the rule that his direction is unique and beyond compare. Two aspects of Romeo + Juliet reign supreme: the cinematography and the soundtrack. As one would expect from Luhrmann, there are some quirky shots that are almost Tarantino-esque, and the use of modern music alongside Ye Olde English language is inspired.
Whilst we’re on the language, was it stupid of me to expect the script to be re-written in a more palatable way? Probably. There’s something about Shakespearean speech that I’ve never got on with, and I end up trying to figure out what the fuck they’re talking about instead of just enjoying it. The non-expectation of a completely verbatim script threw me off completely, if I’m honest. Anyway, the preservation of such language made some sequences seem a little corny and ridiculous against a modernistic backdrop. However, if Shakespeare is your thing then I’m sure this movie is basically ear porn to you.
Not all is lost here due to the Shakespearian language though. Luhrmann does a pretty good job of matching the action to the puzzling dialogue so that the story itself is easy to follow, and it probably helps that this is one of the most famous stories of all time. The best sequences here are indeed those of Romeo & Juliet – the use of water and lighting is particularly nice on the eye – whilst the rest of the script (which is pretty much word for word lifted from the original play) works to forward plot lines with rapidity.
Perhaps necessarily due to the Tudor nature of the dialogue, the performances here are what hold the movie together. Though I wasn’t convinced by DiCaprio in the beginning, he got better as the time ticked on. More minor roles played by renowned British theatre actors Miriam Margolyes and Pete Postlethwaite are the stand-outs though, with Postlethwaite particularly having a real air of understanding for the source material. If you’re looking for a masterclass in theatre acting, look no further than these two.
On the whole, this movie is definitely worth 3.5 stars for its technical aspects and performances, and one can appreciate with ease that Shakespeare was a genius for weaving such melodrama back in 1595. However, we don’t do half stars here, so it’s difficult to know how to rate this one.
Will I ever watch it again? No. But now I don’t feel the need to see any other adaptation either.
Romeo + Juliet is available to rent on Amazon and the Sky Store for £3.49 in the UK.
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