Chemistry Between Principals Makes This Watchable

Rating: 5/10 (2 March 2017)

Back in ninth grade English class, our teacher showed us this movie after we read William Shakespeare's famous play. The film made an impression on me back then, and I wanted to see what would happen 15 years later. It isn't an all-time classic, to be sure, but "Romeo + Juliet" does manage to render the tale in a bit more of a user-friendly format.
For a basic plot summary, this movie uses the exact language of Shakespeare's play...but sets it in a modern, urban environment. Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Juliet (Claire Danes) are the principles, of course, while Harold Perrineau & John Leguizamo have important roles as Mercutio and Tybalt, respectively.
What makes this film hold up at least somewhat are the performances by DiCaprio & Danes. They are perfect for their roles and have great on-screen chemistry. Both ended up being fine thespians, so in hindsight this should not have been surprising. Many fans of the Romeo & Juliet story laud the 1968 version as "top dog", but IMHO the two principles here, at least, put up performances every bit as good as from the earlier effort.
The reason this one isn't an all-time classic? The direction from Baz Luhrmann is just too weird. I don't understand why they couldn't have kept the urban, modern feel without making things so bizarre. The duels between the houses are terribly over-the-top, while I've never once understood why viewers need to see Mercutio prance around in drag for so long. Even the camera work and cinematography is odd/bizarre. Had they toned down that craziness a bit, this could have rocketed higher for me. As it was, like I mentioned earlier, I really only enjoyed the Romeo/Juliet interactions.
Overall, "Romeo + Juliet" is good for showing reluctant Shakespearean "scholars" (e.g. high- schoolers), but other than that it is decidedly average. DiCaprio and Danes give it their all, but all the weird stuff going on around them really detracts from the passion of the story. If only they had played it just slightly more serious...