film review compared to Shakespeare's original intent of his play

Rating: 8/10 (22 November 2005)

In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, perversion of reason is one of the main motifs. During the Renaissance, reason was a moral concept that allied humans with God and distinguished them from the beasts. The concept implied having right love that is governed by reason and not lustful passions or the worshiping of idolatries. Shakespeare's intent of Romeo and Juliet is to show a right type of love through a love that is lustfully wrong. According to Elizabethan values, true love goes beyond surface appearances, guided by reason and clear-sightedness; more specifically, it accords with Divine law. Wrong love is excessive and idolatress, based solely on appearances. The relationship of Romeo and Juliet portrays wrong love to show that this type of love can only end in tragedy. Consequently, the film, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet attempts to mimic Shakespeare's intent; however fails to achieve the overall meaning that is expressed in the original play.
Baz Luhrmann, the director of the film keeps some element of Shakespeare's original intent in his film. The film appears to take place within three to seven days. Romeo and Juliet are both young, and the hastiness in the film parallels the hastiness in the play through Mercutio. However, these similar elements are not strong enough to argue that the film version of Romeo and Juliet is truly Shakespeare's intent. In reality the Baz Luhrmann film makes the "lovers" appear as if they represent right love.
The music in the film is a key part of this aspect. Love songs such as # 1 crush, Angel, Kissing You, and You and Me song surround Romeo and Juliet whenever they are together. They are uplifting tunes that trick the viewer into seeing Romeo and Juliet as the epitome of right love.
The film also has Romeo and Juliet surrounded in bright sunlight or luminous lit up rooms. Light images gives viewers the impression that Romeo and Juliet's "love" is godly, holy, and a right type of love. Clearly, this is not Shakespeare's intent. In his play, Shakespeare has Romeo and Juliet surrounded in dark imagery. The absence of light (Juliet is Romeo's light) symbolizes that their love is doomed.
Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day.
It was the nightingale and not the lark,
That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear.
Nightly she sings on yond pomegranate tree.
Believe me, love, it was the nightingale. (Rom 3.5.1-5) Shakespeare uses the darkness imagery for a reasonto show that Romeo and Juliet's love is wrong.
A specific difference that shows Shakespeare's intent was not portrayed throughout the film was the scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet. In the play, readers clearly know that Romeo is wearing a mask when he arrives at the Capulet's party. There is no evidence throughout the text that Romeo takes his mask off when he first meets Juliet. This scene is essential to the play and Shakespeare's intent because it symbolizes the blindness and false appearance in Romeo and Juliet's love. Nevertheless, in Luhrman's film, Romeo arrives at the Caplet's party wearing a mask, yet removes it before he met Juliet.
Act Three of Romeo and Juliet is a crucial part in Shakespeare's play. The fighting scene between Mercutio, Romeo and Tybalt show the disorderly and uncontrollable passion that runs throughout Shakespeare's play. Bez Luhrman's film version of the scene captures Shakespeare's intended likeness of the play, perfectly. The film portrays the wild, runaway passions of the three extreme characters. Different than the play, a storm is beginning to form that prepares the reader for tragedy, specifically with the wind and thundering. Furthermore, since Shakespeare's work is a play, the actual description of the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio is not stated, the editor only puts in the stage direction: "They Fight." With Luhrman's film, viewers are able to see a violent fight taking place that results in Mercutio's inevitable wound.
The setting of the film is in a modern society. Shorts and Hawaiian shirt replace Renaissance gowns and men wearing tightsha-ha. In stead of swards, guns are the weapons (yet, they are referred to as swards in the movie). The effect of these modern day attributes is what makes the film worth watching. Viewers of the film can relate and appreciate the film as Elizabethans could have related to the play when it had been performed in the Renaissance.
Luhrmann's film adds up to a coherent whole by following through with the director's point of view of the lovers. He sees Romeo and Juliet as a story about the right type of love and is consistent throughout by surrounding the lovers in bright light and love songs. Therefore Baz Fuhrman's William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a good film for only students of Shakespeare. Students of Shakespeare know the true intent of Romeo and Juliet and the values and concerns that had surrounded Elizabethans. Therefore, students can appreciate Luhrmann's interpretation of the film while also taking into consideration Shakespeare's interpretation of right love and reason. The general public, however, may not know Renaissance background and the concepts of reason, right vs. wrong love, and appearance vs. reality. Thus, the general public could misinterpret the film or not even understand it at all.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: Signet Classic, 1998 William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Dir. Baz Luhrmann. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau Jr., and Dash Mihok. 1996. Videocassette. Twentieth Century Fox, 1996.