ROMEO AND JULIET – The Review

So much updating of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been done over the years that some of the subtleties that made the story such a classic may have gotten lost in the shuffle (the first film version in 1936 starred 34-year-old Norma Shearer and 43-year-old Leslie Howard as the 15-years old doomed lovers!). That is why the newest take from Italian director Carlo Carlei is such a pleasure. He seems to have a great, classical, purist understanding of the material, and though ROMEO AND JULIET is pared down, Carlei has the skill to make his version as cinematic as possible while respecting the source. The plot is well known, loaded with tragedy that could always have been so easily averted. It takes place in 16^th century renaissance Italy. Romeo Montague (Douglas Booth) and Juliet Capulet (Hailee Steinfeld) fall in love, despite the fact that their families are bitter enemies. Their heavy romance is threatened by the discord, which is especially promoted by Juliet’s arrogant cousin Tybalt (Ed Westwick) and Romeo’s faithful friend Mercutio (Christian Cooke). This story is so familiar and the dialog critic-proof, so what’s left to judge are the new film’s performances and its visual delivery.

I must admit that I was surprised by how good this version was and how much I enjoyed it. Far from the 1996 MTV-friendly account from Baz Luhrmann, this new ROMEO AND JULIET is distinctly set in the period of the story and is much more of a traditional telling. It lacks anything in the way of distracting flair and style but that’s not to say Carlei’s direction isn’t vivid. This isn’t a filmed play. His camera constantly moves about the large sets dynamically, the action sequences are full of energy but never too choppy, and he draws good performances from his excellent young cast. Even the balcony scene, which every student knows and probably thinks is trite, is made fresh in Carlei ‘s capable hands. He does a great job of drawing us into the romance while also steeling ourselves for the tragedy we all know is coming. Yet, even amidst the spectacle of the visuals, the story is not upstaged and the script by Julianne Fellows is true to Shakespeare’s work. Some sections of the play were removed to get the tale down to the right duration and pacing for a movie, but Shakespeare’s poetic language has not been tampered with. Purists will no doubt find fault with what was left out, but I found the length about perfect and Fellows editing of dialogue just enough to keep it succinct (just under two hours), yet it retains the artistry of the playwright’s words.

I guess if I had to find fault with the film, I’d say the volume of Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski’s lush score at times threatened to drown out the dialog, but it’s such terrific music, I can understand why it was mixed that way. Also, Hailee Steinfeld seemed to mumble through a couple of her lines, but on balance she’s fine and at 17, I’m glad they cast an actress close to the actual age of the character (interesting that Lily Collins was originally cast in the role but dropped out at the last minute – she’s 7 years older  – and much sexier – than Miss Steinfeld). Better is 19-year old Douglas Booth who’s distractingly pretty-boy but delivers his lines with just the right amount of passion. The two leads seem to smooch an awful lot, but that’s probably something the teenage female target audience will eat up. Unsurprisingly, it’s Paul Giamatti who steals the film as the Friar Lawrence, whose desire to help the young lovers sets the tragedy in motion. ROMEO AND JULIET is a classy interpretation recommended for those serious about The Bard as well as young moviegoers new to the story and I hope it connects with all audiences.

4 1/2 of 5 Stars

ROMEO AND JULIET opens in St. Louis October 11th at (among other places) Landmark’s Tivoli Theater and Plaza Frontenac Theater