READ THE PLAY!

Rating: 3/10 (11 September 1999)

This is my message to director Baz Lhurman. Shakespeare's text is studied in high school english for good reason...there is DEPTH! I don't think the director knows what a tragic flaw is, and even if he did, did he make any effort to present that? Advertisements for this movie always spoke to the 'star crossed lovers' aspect. Once again I wonder does Baz know what FATE is?
I won't say something subjective like: DeCaprio was great or DeCaprio stank. I say objectively that his raw emotion that he brought to the screen was excellent, but this emotion does not replace understanding for the lines he's saying (i.e. he had no understanding of the lines he was saying). The director is the one responsible for this lack of comprehension... if you're going to do shakespeare, you have to know what it is you're talking about.
To be blunt this movie was the worst interpretation of shakepeare's play that I have ever witnessed. Shame on Baz that he botched it so badly. My advice to him is READ THE PLAY!