Movie #159 Romeo + Juliet *1996*

Leonardo DiCapiro - Romeo
Claire Danes - Juliet
Baz Luhrmann (Director)

I love getting to write scathing reviews of terrible films.  Most of the times I watch films that I am interested in.  I think I have pretty good taste and I know what critics to listen to.  I know the one's that have the same sensibilities as me.  Rare is the time when I am not in control of my viewing habits.  The occasional date movie, sometimes my daughters pick a films for us to watch, every once in a while a friend will recommended a film that I check out based on their review. 

I also love getting to write reviews in which I get to say nothing about the script.  Who am I to criticize Shakespeare?  It sounds obscene, but I have never been a fan of his.  I know that is the equivalent of saying "I'm not really into music", or "I don't see what's the big deal about sun rises?".  It's not that I don't respect the work, but I am criminally undereducated on it.  I feel that the Shakespeare I learned in school was not very well explained to me.  I read some of it, didn't understand it, and never went back to the well.  That put a sour taste in my mouth and I have been avoiding his plays ever since.

While I was surfing Netflix for PG-13 films that I thought my tween daughters might like, I came across Romeo + Juliet.  We all sat down Tuesday night to watch it.

The idea behind this retelling of the classic story is to place the characters in a "modern" environment.  That was today's youth can relate and introduce a new audience to Shakespeare's writing.  Honorable in its premise, the film is insulting in it's execution. 

The film is set in 90's LA.  The waring families from the play are sort of represented as feuding gangs.  I think part of the problem is that Baz didn't truly understand the culture in which he was setting his film.  LA gangs are gritty, murderous thugs.  Not neon Mohawk wearing, Bermuda short clad, Court jesters.  Baz made the urban streets of LA look like a Liberace wet dream.  He goes on then to place a hodge-podge of music in the film that to me didn't relate at all to what was on the screen or what was being said. 

This movie reminded me a lot of Across the Universe.  That was a film that I didn't even make it all the way through.  There are TONS of flaws with that movie.  Here are the big ones to me.  First off it is a film where the director tried to as literally as possible visually represent Beatles song lyrics.  To the extent that there was a character named Prudence, and she locked herself in a closet.  That way they could sing "Dear Prudence.  Won't you come out and play". Of course she was gay.  This was exhausting.  Instead of taking a narrative and working songs into it, the took 20 different ideas and tried to THINLY string a cohesive narrative out of it.  The second big issues with that films (and the one that ties a little closer to Romeo + Juliet) is that everyone already has associations to Beatles songs.  When I think about Here Comes the Sun I think about the summer I spent painting barns in the country for my uncle.  When I think about Twist and Shout I think of Ferris Bueller's Day off.  To take these songs and try to impose a different vision or memory about them is both bold and eventually fruitless.  Also, the visuals in that movie were ridiculous.  Same as this film.

The dialogue was kept in the traditional Shakespeare tongue, and I give Baz a lot of credit for making that choice.  It did help me to understand the story better seeing it acted out, I just wish that it had been placed in a more realistic setting.

The performances are hit and miss.  I thought both Leo and Danes were good, but could have been a lot better.  There scenes together were very solid, but I felt their interactions with the other cast member were lacking commitment.  Both Tybalt and Mercutio were very distracting.  I would bet that their performances were exactly what Baz wanted from them.  Unfortunately.

So, some things that I like.  I like the way the news casts were used.  Lines from the play were being read on TV news broadcasts.  I thought that was very creative and worked very well within the film.  I liked Pete Postlethwaite in the role of Romeo's father.  I like the language.  It has made me interested in seeing different filmic versions of Shakespeare plays.

Overall I can say that I barely squeaked out enough from this film to enjoy it.  I am in no hurry to watch it again though. I give Romeo + Juliet ★★★.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.