Review of Romeo + Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann

The first time I watched this edition of Romeo + Juliet was in high school. Back then, I had to pick an artistic class for my elective, and I decided to pick a technical theater class because that didn’t really a ton of effort. That said, I did end up watching movies like this in that class, as we had to analyze how they built the world of two different versions of the classic Shakespeare play.

Back then, as a dumb junior in high school, I had no idea what to expect from a film like this, and could not appreciate it for what it is. I was thinking about that, and the irony of the fact I ended up becoming a film critic at an established outlet because of the fact I immersed myself in the world of film and it meant to make great movies.

Although I recently left my position of film critic at MovieWeb to go move to India on a Fulbright, and I can no longer keep an employment while I’m on that, I decided to revisit this film. Good thing i Have this blog to share my thoughts!

Let’s get into the review before I start rambling too much.

The story of Romeo and Juliet, but with a modern gangster flair.

In this cinematic version of the play, we have such a modern update. Set in the nineties, on Verona Beach, the Capulets and Montagues are specifically business empires and rivals. They end up pursuing more gangster means of going after each other because of it.

The older generation fed into the younger generations’ beliefs about each other, continuing this awful cycle. That leads to a Montague, Benvolio, and a Capulet, Tybalt, to having a shootout in the middle of the city. Their antics lead to a ripple effects, and the Police Chief ends up arresting them both.

He then goes to both families, and warns them to stop doing harmful actions to each other. His warning also comes with a underlying threat that if they continue this, their lives will be at stake.

Benvolio and Romeo learn soon after that the Capulet are throwing a costume party, which they decide to crash. Romeo was a bit reluctant at first, but when he hears his beloved Rosaline is attending, he’s all in. They meet up with Mercutio, who has the tickets, and take some drugs before heading to the Capulet’s lair (or mansion).

Romeo, who has a negative effect from the drug, and is overwhelmed by the scale of the party, goes into the bathroom. There, he spots Juliet from across the fish tank, and the two fall in love. Neither has a clue of who the other person is, but when Tybalt spots Romeo on the way out, he swear holy revenge.

It’s also on the way out that Juliet and Romeo learn who each other are, but that doesn’t stop these young lovebirds. Romeo keeps coming back to see her, and even proposes. He goes to Father Laurence, who agrees to marry him, and sends word through Juliet’s nurse.

The two get married in secret from their families. But one day, when Mercutio and Romeo are on the beach, they come across Tybalt. Romeo tries to make amends, but then Tybalt attacks them. Mercutio beats him up, but Romeo then stops him from giving the killing blow. Tybalt then sees an opportunity and kills Mercutio.

Mercutio curses both families before passing on, and now Romeo is very angry. He shoots Tybalt to death in an act of vengeance, but then the Police Chief banishes him from the city. He hides out with Father Laurence, and the nurse arrives to tell him that Juliet is waiting.

He goes to visit her and they do the deed, and her father decides she is going to marry someone else. When she’s told the next morning, after Romeo leaves, Juliet refuses. Her father says he will disown her if she does not do this, and Father Laurence gives her a potion faking her death.

She takes it, and Father Laurence sends Romeo a letter about it that never arrives. Romeo believes she is dead, and buys poison to take. He swallows it over her body just as she wakes up, and Juliet, realizing Romeo is now dead, shoots herself in the head.

Reporters describe the incident on television, and both their parents arrive on the scene. The Police Chief tells them about how their feud caused this to happen, with it hopefully to never happen again.

Overall Thoughts

As I mentioned before, this is such a good movie to return to after all of these years. A lot of cinema is packed into this movie, and while I’m not a fan of his later movies, I can appreciate this film a lot.

I also really liked the contemporary update to Romeo and Juliet. I think it fit really well within the framework of the play, and that Luhrmann and his team really pulled something off here. We won’t see a version like this again for a while, I feel like.

That said, go watch this if you haven’t already!

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