Film Review: Romeo And Juliet By Baz Lurhman

Film Review: Romeo and Juliet by Baz Lurhman
Lurhman’s extravagant approach to this film has definitely paid off. He manages to recycle the old traditional view of Shakespeare into a new moderndrama. Thanks to his wide use of different types of music and special camera effects the viewer can become involved in the film and always be on the edge of their seat.
The plot is as follows: a pair ofyoung lovers that belong to different families which are at war with each other. They met at a party and it was love at first sight. Since that moment onwards they do whatever they can to be togetherbut many impediments are presented and both of them are forced to take drastic actions which end up with both of their lives.
Verona the Italian medieval city is transformed into a modern industrialcity from the 21st century. The palaces of the rival families are replaced by skyscrapers, each one bearing the name of their family.
In this modern Verona the horses and swords turn into cars andguns. And the feud between families took place at a gas station. Lurhman did this on purpose to give it an air of suspense as it is really easy to un intentionally light the oil leading to a massiveexplosion, which actually happens.
Many locations were changed in order to adapt the story in modern life, this way people can relate better to the story because sure enough they’ve been to a gasstation before. I find this very clever, a good technique to use to transform old literature into an “action movie”.
Romeo (Di Caprio) and Juliet (Danes) are the two main characters. They both play theirroles in a manner that they reflect the image of typical teenagers of these times: playful, rebellious and driven by their emotions. Although they successfully portray all of the things above thereare some flaws in their characters. In some scenes one could argue that there were overreactions and too much melodrama that did not quite suit the modern background it was set at. The speeches...