daring

Rating: Null/10 (24 November 1998)

When I saw this movie, I felt like I was watching an episode of "Sliders." Set in modern times (in fictional Verona Beach, California), with gun-toting, car-driving characters, the characters speak perfect Shakespearean English, complete with the "thee"'s and "wherefore"'s of the 15th century. Ludicrous? I thought it would be--and yet it works. The acting and cinematography hy is so first-rate it's not hard to suspend disbelief and believe that all this actually happened--and in precisely this way. It was a surrealistic experience, like being caught in some bizarre time warp in another dimension where somehow the 20th century happened--but the English language never evolved. And of course, the story of the star-crossed lovers is timeless...it could happen in any century. Perhaps this is the message the filmmakers were trying to get across. Dicaprio is good here as Romeo, but it's Claire Danes who really shines. She's delicately and ethereally beautiful as Juliet, but with just the right amount of playful innocence to make her accessible. A fresh and original take on a very old story, but the 1968 version is still my favorite adaptation.