Film Review of Romeo and Juliet

“Romeo and Juliet” is about the feud of the Capulets and Montagues. Romeo and Juliet fall in love, but find that they are the children of their parents’ enemies. They end up dying together for their love of each other.

The modern version of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann, is a very exciting and suspenseful film. It is set in a busy place making it more dramatic, although sometimes very theatrical. It is made very suspenseful in several bits of the film, for example, when Romeo decided to drink the poison, Juliet woke up. After he had drunk the poison, Juliet touched his hand. It makes you wonder why Juliet hadn’t touched his hand a second before, but of course then Juliet also dies.

I suppose the setting was an interesting place. Baz Luhrmann chose Verona Beach, probably to make it more dramatic and loud, and chaotic. However, some parts of the film were very theatrical, like the big fight at the start of the movie.

I thought that the actors in the Baz Luhrmann Romeo and Juliet were very convincing actors. They played their parts well. John Leguizimo, who played Tybalt, looked very vicious. At the start, we can see that Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) was very sad and brooding over the fact that Rosaline didn’t return his unrequited love. Claire Danes played her part as Juliet very well. She gave us the image that she was just an innocent little girl. Paris is acted out as if he were stupid. I think it was funny how Baz Luhrmann made Paris such a naive guy. The actors portrayed the emotions well, making it more enjoyable for teenagers.

I thought that the music was well organized. There was different music depending on the scenes. For example, at Romeo and Juliet’s wedding, there was choir music which was very loud and happy, as it was a very important and special moment. When Mercutio and Tybalt died, there was slow music which gradually became more dramatic.

Baz Luhrmann made the traditional Romeo and Juliet a great hit for all teenagers. He made it a lot easier to understand Shakespeare, and all his language and their intended meaning. It is a very suspenseful film and wonderfully put together.