William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

Even if you never paid attention in English you should know the plot of Romeo and Juliet, so you’ve got no reason to be annoyed when I spoil the ending. It’s a classic tale of boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Boy and girl discover their parents are enemies. Boy climbs balcony and says a lot of famous lines. Shit happens. Boy thinks girl has died and poisons himself. Girl wakes up and finds boy’s corpse and stabs herself. All others involved get upset. The end.

Baz Luhrmann’s version of the famous tragedy is adapted for the so called ‘MTV generation’ and brings a new attitude to the duller version you may have studied to death in English or Drama. The use of modern elements being brought into the original script is done very cleverly and really works well, though naming the guns ‘swords’ to make the script work was a bit tenuous. Small things like the TV anchorwoman replacing the narrator, gang warfare replacing the family rivalries and even the drag act and drugs, allow Luhrmann to capture the intricacies of the relationships in a more contemporary way and make the original story stand out.

Luhrmann’s direction is as always stylish, tight and lively. The raw hatred between the two families is well portrayed right from the start, especially John Leguizamo as the vicious Tybalt. Mercutio (Harold Perrineau) is also excellent, bringing an energy and exuberance to the character that almost steals the film. The start is a little hectic but soon slows its pace from when Romeo and Juliet first set eyes on each other, letting the plot unfold. Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio are both very good as the ‘star crossed’ leads, with DiCaprio demonstrating here a talent for tragic death later used in Titanic.

This is a film that everyone should enjoy, not just girls and not just couples. The film avoids the trap of becoming an overly sentimental chick flick, which leaves it as exactly what it should be, the greatest love story the world has ever known, made into a terrific film.

Deb Mitra

When I first heard that Romeo & Juliet had been "updated" I shuddered. I thought that yet another of Shakespeare's classics had been destroyed. Fortunately, I was wrong.

Baz Luhrman has directed an "in your face", and visually stunning piece with this film. It revolves around the two rival families, who in this version each run multi-million dollar enterprises. These rival companies/families are the Capulets and the Montagues. The younger generation of these two families have formed gangs, who despise one another. As the storyline goes, Romeo Montague (DiCaprio) and Juliet Capulet (Danes) meet at a fancy dress party, and it is love at first sight; the scene in which Romeo's eyes meet Juliet's through the fish tank is one of the most memorable. Of course, they cannot publicly reveal their love, for their families are arch enemies. So they marry in secret, and this is where things begin to go wrong. Don't expect a happy ending, the story, as with all good Shakespeare, ends in tragedy.

The cinematography is spectacular to say the least, and the soundtrack provides the perfect atmosphere in which to "lay our scene". There is very little to criticise. The performances are convincing, and several of the film's younger stars may find that it provides a launch for their careers. The modernisation of the script is ingenious and clever. Despite the well known storyline, this latest version will still manage to cause tears among many members of the audience, and this is certainly a great credit to the film.

Mike Joyce