Moderized Without Losing the Shakespeare

Rating: 9/10 (7 June 2005)

I'm a sucker for William Shakespeare even though I like it done better in the theatre. This one however, kept my attention and seemed to do a great job with modernizing the whole quarreling families thing. The movie kicks off with a street brawl between the Montegues and Capulets. The Prince forewarns them that if they ever disturb the peace again their "lives will pay the forfeit of the peace." We are then introduced to the character Romeo who is played by Leonardo DeCaprio. Leo does a great job as Romeo, but that's because Leo is a good actor in this film. Soon after that we are introduced to Juliet who is played by the beautiful Claire Danes, someone I haven't seen in too many movies. Danes does a great job playing the flirty Juliet. The movie follows the original script very accurately. The symbolism is also used very well throughout the movie. If you look at the guns you'll notice that some say sword, some say rapier, and I believe some say dagger. The Montegues always wear a Hawaiian style shirt. The Capulets dress more like mobsters or thugs even though both sides could be viewed as thugs in some sort or another. In either case each family wears a certain kind of clothing that makes it easy to tell who's who. One great part I absolutely love is the party. Juliet wears angel wings and Romeo wears a knight outfit. Romeo's best friend (and I wish I could spell his name but I'd rather not butcher it) dresses up as a women. So to explain this form of symbolics, for those who aren't getting it, it's Romeo is the "knight in shinning armor," Juliet is the angel of Romeo's dreams, and Romeo's best friend is the comic relief. There's other things you'll notice at the party also, like Tybalt wears devil horns(i.e. he's a villain). Both families you'll also notice are rich, which also follows the script accurately. Overall, if you're a Shakespeare fan, a fan of romantic movies, a fan of tragic movies, or a fan of artistic movies then make sure to look into this one. It'll sweep you off you're feet, make you laugh, make you cry, and make you fall in love.