Romeo + Juliet

In perhaps the best known romantic tragedy of all time, passion flows as the heat rises in love and war while weapons flash and blood pools; two erstwhile enemies put their parents feelings aside to romance each other. And while the enmity rises, and lives fall on both sides, their love affair is cut short and no side passes through unscathed.

This film's cousin, we've already seen and we've studied its seduction and sorrow. And while Moulin Rouge is Baz Luhrman's magnum opus, this one's charm is no less beautiful; its direction to cause the sigh within my soul for deep feeling to move and heave is effective and so brilliant. Regardless that the package's soul lies in better form than its counterpart from the 1960's, the emotion is drawn out and given a younger feel complete with modern costumes and upgraded weaponry and transport: I'm forced to compare the opera that is Moulin Rouge to Romeo and Juliet's rock-epic and say that I'm not as deeply affected by the passage of this film as I am of its cousin. But the package is deeply beautiful on its own, still giving me goosebumps at the pinnacle of each plot point, remaining in my sentiment one of the best adaptations of the story.

As far as the story goes, the presentation is beautifully done. The language fits well with the setting and the actors are very comfortable, all of them, with its complexity and meaning. I enjoy the banter between the Capulet and Montague boys, Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mercutio, and Tybalt (John Leguizamo) and Mercutio (Harold Perrineau). The casting is very well done, each are very comfortable with their characters, pouring the full measure of themselves. Leguizamo's Tybalt posesses everything needed for a hot-headed, arrogant master duelist, including stance and swagger and poise. DiCaprio's Romeo has the perfect balance of passions in love and in rage and in sorrow; his energy equally spent with each, proving even at this point his dedication to the art. And Perrineau's Mercutio has a bright flourish of righteous madness, my favorite scene being the fight that leads to Mercutio's end.

The only fault lies with the position of the strongest emotional release. It's found in the circumstances that separate Juliet (Claire Danes) and Romeo when it should fall to the suspense in the passing and near miss of their ending, and with the missing vicious duel and brutal death of Paris the Rival (Paul Rudd) which, if it weren't so hasty, might have saved our lovers. While the desperation remains, the personal touch is lacking; we do not fear for him as much. His only peril lies in the lawful manhunt by the prince's men and of course arriving too early to poison himself. All of the personal emotion is therefore transferred to Pete Postlethwaite's Friar Lawrence and his failed message delivery. As well, the final monologues are missing or truncated, failing to assist the suspense of the finale. As is the choice to have Juliet's suicide be with a gun, for it buries the pain of her despair; the climax is too quick, robbing us of the explosion of catharsis.

My affection still remains for this film, regardless: because of its comprehensive understanding of the dialogue, the performance and the cinematography, production design and the musical choices. The package itself is still beautiful, despite the story development and transmogrification from the play proved to be the least cared for. The story itself is still one of the most beautiful, suspenseful and tragic love stories of all time.

****

IN: Leonardo DiCaprio

OUT: Claire Danes

Coming Soon: Stardust