Baz Lurhmann's Romeo and Juliet

307 Words2 Pages
Nominated for an Oscar in 1997’s Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, this appropriation of Romeo and Juliet, based on William Shakespeare’s original works and directed by Baz Luhrmann, is a very dramatic and suspenseful film. This film does an excellent job of combining Shakespearian dialogue with modern imagery. Although this is a story which has been told many times before, Luhrmann keeps the entire storyline exciting. This film tells the classic story of the star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. The themes of immature blind passion, hatred and prejudice play many roles in this brilliant film. Romeo and Juliet are young teenagers who fall in love despite the prejudice of their families. Regardless of the feud, they marry in secret. They try to hide their actions but the story ends with dire consequences. The actors in the film were very convincing and realistic actors. At the start, we can see that Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) was brooding over the fact that Rosaline didn’t return his love. Claire Danes’ portrayal of Juliet was really realistic, she gave the image that she was an innocent little girl. Paris is acted out really naively. The actors portrayed the emotions in a way that makes it more enjoyable for teenagers. The music and lighting were amazing. The choir music which was very loud and happy during Romeo and Juliet’s wedding which was good as it was a very special and happy moment. When the final fighting scene between Tybalt and Mercutio came, a great storm appeared on the horizon, and when Romeo held Tybalt in his arms for the last time, the storm became louder and more violent which made that particular scene very dramatic. Baz Luhrmann made Romeo and Juliet interesting for teenagers with a lot of modernised themes and costumes. It is a very suspenseful, dramatic and romantic film.
Open Document