Romeo + Juliet
Five words to describe Baz Lurhmann’s “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet” is frantic, amplified, energetic, different, and fresh. These words best describe Baz Lurhmann’s interpretation of the most famous play in history. He captures the truth and the meaning behind the story while modernizing the story as a whole. In my opinion, I find Baz Lurhmann’s screenplay more entertaining than the actual play itself.
In “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet” Baz Lurhmann’s contemporary form relates the feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets, as two feuding gangs. The two star crossed lovers Romeo (Leonardo Dicaprio) and Juliet (Claire Danes) are the son and daughter of the two feuding gangs. This proves difficult for their relationship to flourish. They take advice from Father Lawrence (Pete Postlethwaite) and Juliet’s nurse (Miriam Mergoyles) and get married. Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt (John Leguizamo),
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The most difficult choice, I think, that he made was finding the actor for the role of Mercutio. Ewan McGregor, Chirstan bale, and Jon Leguizamo all auditioned for the part of Mercutio before Lurhmann decided to cast Mercutio as a black man. The role was given to Harold Perrineau. Harold Perrineau is by far my most favorite actor throughout the entirety of the show. He perfectly captured the essence of anger towards both Romeo and Tybalt. The anger towards Romeo was mixed with sadness. The reason being that Romeo had gotten in the way of Mercutio’s duel with Tybalt, resulting in his death. While with Tybalt it was a different story it was both anger and sincere hatred. Perrineau’s ability to switch emotions so quickly and smoothly was an example of great talent. He was what kept me from seeing “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet” as a boring old romantic tragedy. He brought comedy to the story while still being able to stay serious and