Full disclosure; director Luhrmann's Red Carpet Trilogy (this, along with Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge!) are some of my favourite films ever. While there are Shakespeare plays closer to my heart, I admit, Romeo and Juliet, as the first I was ever exposed to, and for its reckless romanticism, remains one I enjoy time after time. So this pairing is pretty much perfect for me. Luhrmann's operatic, otherworldly style merges both the modern sensibility with the elevated language, to create a fantasy of tragic love.
Luhrmann's approach in these films is to start out at full speed, careening us into his mad worlds, and just as we are overwhelmed by the spectacle, he finds a softness, he slows us down, and then overwhelms us with the emotion and passion on top of it all. Here it is that the chaos of his neon visions until his two lovers meet and we, like them, are swept up in love. Des'ree's Kissing You grabs our hearts and it all feels just like a dream of love.
His visual style, here crafting a wholly realized Verona Beach, where this magical tale can exist seamlessly in a modern world of gangs and drugs. His adaptation perfectly finds late 20th century reasons for everything, whether it be Queen Mab as a drug trip, or gun fights exchanged for swords, or a courier company called "post haste." He inserts an overt queerness into the narrative. He makes the inevitable tragedy feel both appropriate and entirely heartbreaking. In short his fantastic approach makes the story all the more honest and heartfelt.
DiCaprio was just beginning his meteoric rise to superstardom with this film and yet he proves he's first and foremost a remarkable actor. His Romeo is a tortured teen, angered and frustrated by the conflict he's born into. He makes us understand why Juliet is so captivating. She is his way out of of it. And he for her. While it is easy for us to critique the childish love this play's leads fall into, DiCaprio and Danes infuse it with something far more, making it feel oh so more real, despite the fantastic world they inhabit. Danes, also at the beginning of her career, is probably the best Juliet I've ever seen, one that has far more agency than she often enjoys. Also wonderful are Parrineau and Leguizamo whose Mercutio and Tybalt both bring gravitas to the story, and a sense of danger, a feeling there is more to this story than just the lovers.
This film is unforgettable, whether for how striking it is visually or because of the quiet moments between DiCaprio and Danes. Gorgeous throughout, the film is endlessly watchable. But it is also filmed in a way that makes it completely accessible. Despite using the original text (admittedly with additions from other plays) the dialogue is easily digestible. It is also creative in how it uses that text. He inverts our expectations, no small matter for a 500 year old play, for example by not setting the balcony scene on a balcony.
What it comes down to is I never tire of watching this film. I watch it each time like a rich treat that makes me smile and cry. It makes me care about young foolish love. And it makes me love movies and all they can do. And it makes me love the Bard's beautiful tale of love and waste.
William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Harold Parrineau, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Rudd, Paul Sorvino, Brian Dennehy, Miriam Margolyes, Diane Venora, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Jesse Bradford, Dash Mihok, Jamie Kennedy, Christina Pickles
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writers: William Shakespeare, Craig Pearce, Baz Luhrmann
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