Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" is showing at Loews this Thursday as part of the Dartmouth Film Society's "In Love With Shakespeare" series.
There have been nearly two dozen American feature-film productions of "Romeo and Juliet" in the 20th century, but this most recent interpretation distinguishes itself by mixing a modern-day urban setting with the original Elizabethan dialogue. The anachronism is an intentional ploy by Luhrmann to lure a teenage crowd into appreciating the elegance of Shakespeare's prose.
A pre-"Titanic" Leonardo DiCaprio plays the male lead, young heir to the Montague legacy. DiCaprio's star power is matched with Claire Dane's performance as Juliet Capulet. Other notables back up the two leads--John Leguizamo as Tybalt, hot-headed leader of the Capulet gang, and Paul Sorvino as Fulgencio Capulet, head of his Mafia family.
The plot of this futuristic adaptation is generally faithful to Shakespeare's tale of star-crossed lovers. The Montagues are a powerful force of organized crime in Florida's Verona Beach, and are in fierce competition with the equally notorious Capulets. (In a parallel to 1961's "West Side Story," the rivalry between the white Montagues and the Hispanic Capulets is heightened by racial tension.)
The movie is not without its late-20th-century twists. Romeo and Juliet meet at a dance party, but Romeo drops acid in this version. Similarly, much of the famous balcony scene takes place with the lovers relating their passion and despair while afloat in Juliet's swimming pool. And Luhrmann can be complimented for remaining faithful to Shakespeare's dialogue, but he takes odd measures to do so, such as having the gangs brandish guns manufactured by the "Sword" company to resolve the use of that word in the original text.
The film met with mixed reviews from critics upon its release in 1996. The Washington Post's Desson Howe crowed that Luhrmann "puts Shakespeare's greatest romance in a choke-hold and takes it slam-dancing." Conversely, Stephanie Zacharek of Salon Magazine maintained that Claire Dane's performance was so stunning that it offset the movie's flaws. One common complaint in the critical realm was the frenetic cinematography, which many felt obscured the dialogue that the director had worked so hard to preserve.
While Shakespeare buffs may not appreciate the transformation of this classic story into a violent, racist 1990s setting, the movie should be entertaining if viewed simply as a teen-oriented flick backed by box-office draws DiCaprio and Danes.
"William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet" plays Thursday, October 14 at 9:00 p.m. in Loews Auditorium.
