Week 2: Romeo & Juliet (Baz Luhrmann 1996)

Romeo + Juliet poster & movie trailer link

‘Rhetorical excess and violations of decorum are the elements of Shakespearean drama presumed to be indigestible for a contemporary audience.’ (Stone, Packer, Hoopes. pg. 62)
Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet discards these elements and unlocks the world of 16^th century Shakespeare by putting it into a modern day context. The script sticks to the original Elizabethan dialogue, but the language is clarified by supporting it with familiar 20^th century images and scenes. Said the director, Baz Luhrmann of the film; ‘Consequently it captures the spirit of Shakespeare's writing: to entertain any audience.’

Use of 20^th century imagery to identify with themes and characters:

·         Gun warfare rather than swordplay- Now, guns with holy pictures inlaid in the grips are branded as Rapier, Dagger,  Sword and Long Sword, and wielded expertly and fluidly (Mercucio’s ‘Flamingo Dance’ on Verona beach) as a parallel of the daggers carried then.

·         Queen Mab as a drug- the fairies’ midwife, is reinvented as a pill of LSD Mercucio gives Romeo before they go to the Capulet ball.

·         Rival houses are now competing corporations.

·         Neon crosses and Madonna lights- a parallel to the humble candle, though these are still seen in plenty. Religious devotion is still a major theme, however more as a contrast to the lives of murder, infidelity, drug use and hate that they are actually living.

·         Doublet and hose are now bullet proof vests, jeans and Hawaiian shirts.

·         The streets of Italian Verona are now the beach frontage of Verona Beach, USA.

·         The chorus is replaced by a news reporter- A television news presenter broadcasts the prologue on television, setting the scene of the play by illustrating the violence occurring between the two families, and the fate of the star crossed lovers. Our foreknowledge of how the story will end helps us maintain a degree of detachment from the lives of the characters, as we have become hardened to when watching the six o’clock news. The film ends with the image morphing into a television picture, and we see again the anchorwoman in her studio. She speaks to camera the final lines.

·         Costumes and behaviour- particularly at the Capulet party, illuminates important elements of the characters in a way that a 20^th century audience can relate to;

Romeo                 Night in shining armour, hero, rebel.
Juliet                     Angel, white & virginal, innocent, sheltered, craving independence.
Mercucio             Drag queen, confident, suggestive of his sexuality.
Tybalt                    Devil, the bad guy, perhaps having a sexual relationship with Mrs. Capulet.
Paris                      Astronaught, bachelor of the year. His actions here suggestive of gay tendencies.
Mr Capulet         Marc Antony, purple sequined toga suggestive of another male dressed in drag.
Mrs Capulet       Cleopatra, is seen kissing Tybalt.
Friar Lawrence  Tattoo clad, shot glass swindling herbalist.

Low comedy with High tragedy:Chris Palmer writes that ‘Tybalt’s first appearance borrows from the ‘spaghetti western’ genre.  The cliche scene of the ‘bad guy’ making his first appearance here is the four men fighting suddenly freeze while we hear the sound of a match striking. There is a close-up of the match as it falls to the ground beside a black cat-spurred boot. The camera cranes up to meet the dark cold eyes and feline smile of Tybalt, cigarette between teeth and gun-hand outstretched, the epitome of calm, menacing, cool control.’ The camera then follows an escalating confrontation that is comically undercut by the exaggeratedly performance of the Montague boys, obviously scared but trying not to show it. The gunfight is comically impossible: over-the-shoulder shooting, commando style rolls. The setting of Mercucio’s death marks the dramatic turn of events; the downward path of Romeo and Juliet’s fortunes begins here. This scene is fantastically supported by the ominous building of a thunder storm, symbolically adding to the disastrous chain of events that an enraged Romeo sets off. It is this clever mix, as Luhrmann himself says:  ‘We have not shied away from clashing low comedy with high tragedy, which is the style of the play, for it’s the low comedy that allows you to embrace the very high emotions of the tragedy.’

Discussion Question: Romeo and Juliet has frequently been described as a comedy that turns into a tragedy. In the first two acts there is an amusing street fight, a masked ball, a lover's meeting, a young man carrying courtly conventions to ridiculous extremes, parents interfering in the love-lives of their young. Suddenly Mercucio is slain, Romeo is banished, the friar falls on desperate measures, Juliet prepares for death, a message goes astray, and death follows quickly. Whilst these elements seem 'obvious', they do not account for the apparently timeless appeal of the play. Why does the story of Romeo and Juliet have 'timeless' appeal? What is meant by 'timeless appeal'?

R+J is a timeless story because it has many themes that resonate and are as relevant today as what they were in the 16th century. Themes such as religious devotion, family honour and duty, young love, old love and the institution of marriage, that speaks to us across time and culture. It focuses on humans being humans; falling in love, honour and loyalty to family and friends, and the tragic floors that we all have. In this case its Romeo's haste and Juliet's craving for independence from her sheltered world.