November, 1996
Feature
Alexia Clarke:
90's Spin on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet"
Breaks to New Mutiny
By David DiVincenzo
The greatest love story ever told has been updated for the 90's as Romeo and Juliet opened in theaters nationwide in November. The new version of the Shakespearean romantic tragedy sets Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) in fictional Verona Beach, where daggers are guns, long swords are rifles, and Mercutio is a drag queen. When the Capulets throw a gala, Romeo, feeling lonely, is persuaded by his friends to attend the party, where he meets his star-crossed love, the beautiful Juliet, played by Claire Danes.
Director Baz Luhrmann's interpretation of the Elizabethan play results in a somewhat cartoonish but visually entertaining work reflective of the culture of the 90's. Enthusiasts of Shakespeare and Franco Zefferelli's 1968 screen version may feel that Hollywood has butchered their great play. But Luhrmann's film explores the same issues as the bard's play: love, hate, revenge, sex, and drugs.
Romeo and Juliet meet in the restroom of the Capulet's mansion. As he enters the room he gazes through the aqua tinted fish tank. The tank separates the men's and women's room. Fitting the story perfectly, Juliet gazes at the fish tank at the same time. The result is love at first sight, beautifully shot and well acted by Danes and DiCaprio.
In the balcony scene Juliet rides a royal elevator to the upper level of her home.
Adding another fine performance to his roles in The Basketball Diaries and This Boy's Life, DiCaprio is fabulous playing the young Romeo as a romantic lover and a vengeful assassin.
Danes skillfully plays Juliet as a modern day teenage girl displeased with her parents' choice of husbands and drawn to her forbidden love. She has come a long way from her cancelled TV show, "My So-called Life," adding her strong performance as Juliet to her fine work in Little Women.
