Romeo and Juliet, perhaps the most famous of Shakespeare's works has endured three major film adaptations: Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 opus and arguably the most beloved cinematic adaptation; Bar Luhrman's cocaine-fueled, gun-soaked tale in a heightened modern world; and a little known indie film produced in 2003 starring Hailee Steinfeld that was panned for woeful miscasting. Each has its own take on the Bard's exploration of young love and how prejudice can destroy it. It is always a challenge to put a fresh spin on the tale through the visual medium of cinema and give the story resonance and meaning in a modern society: I believe Joel Petrie's vision, released on VOD June 26, brings something absolutely refreshing to the table and firmly understands how to take an old tale and flip it into something truly modern.
This is a film that reminds me much of Jean-Luc Gadot's "Breathless"; not that this film is as great, but for what Romeo and Juliet may lack in some minor faults in craft and a couple of strange casting choices, it more than makes up for it with kinetic energy and a fresh vision with some bold, brilliant choices.
It feels as if planet earth is aware of the story through cultural osmosis: The Montagues and The Capulets are two families involved in a bitter feud that has expanded into the streets of Verona and have been forbidden for the most part not to engage in physical conflict. This is the table setting of our story, but the courses of the meal are wildly different from the first frame that introduces a wandering street performer (Trenton McKean, who also provides the film's score with Jordan Petrie) that acts as the story's chorus. This version, like the 1996 Lurhman film is set in modern times - but unlike the whirlwind of insanity from that film, this is strictly grounded in reality. The street-performer/chorus is such an inspired masterstroke I am surprised it hasn't been captured on film before. This is the perfect introduction to the world of Verona, an urban, youthful and progressive city - a city we could relate to as our own.
We are introduced to Romeo (Dallin Major) in a park, in love with his darling Rosaline and teased by friends, Benvolio (Topher Rasmussen) and Mercutia (Maddy Forsyth) before being convinced to attend a ball hosted by the Capulets in hopes of meeting Rosaline. The last sentence did not contain a typo-the name is indeed Mercutia, a female who takes up the role of a Gothic-jester, head dressed in different colored wigs in each scene, another great spin that helps root the story. Forsyth plays the fool as a hipster urbanite, a perfect microcosm of millennial youth. Even though I knew her fate, I was excited every time she was on screen. Of course, Romeo sees Juliet (Devin Marie Neff) for the first time and they instantly fall in love.
Then, something extraordinary happens. The film throws another curveball at the audience, playing with time and practically devouring itself before creating a new perspective. Petrie, who also edited the film, seems to be aware of the visual storytelling techniques of the past films and does everything possible not to mimic. The Capulet ball is a rainbow-colored rave where the loud musical setting culminates in a great exchange when the two lovers meet. The horrifying battle between Romeo and the frightening Tybalt (Shawn Francis Saunders) is a frantic, messy, un-choreographed tangle on the streets. The rage on Capulet's (Christopher Clark) face as he threatens to disown Juliet literally shakes the frame. The bombastic scene where Romeo retrieves the fatal cocktail from an apothecary (Ryan Templeman), reimagined as a junkie drug dealer, is a horrifying vision of addiction that hits close to home and may be the film's most powerful moment.
There are moments that are still a little awkward in a contemporary setting: the biting of thumbs, banishment, and even Juliet's death seeming instantaneous after stabbing herself. These moments really can't be helped as they are canon and is difficult to change without altering the entire text. What matters though, is the acting and chemistry and the film succeeds. Major and Neff are believable as the star-crossed lovers and share an innocence that rides the edge dangerous. They may work as a reimagined Bonnie and Clyde. Saunder's take on Tybalt is a manic and horrific vision, eyes bulging out like a Nazi seeing a Jew invade his territory. Rasmussen and Forsyth play off each other with an improvisational glee. But the main takeaway is that the show isn't called Benvolio and Mercuitia...it's Romeo and Juliet and no play and no film would work if the leads didn't. And they do.
The tale of Romeo and Juliet resonates because of its lover's rebellious nature (every young generation resents the older one) and an exploration of prejudice that leads to irrational hatred: Nazism, slavery, the eradication of Native Americans, and our current Islamophobia could be replaced by the Montagues and Capulets. To take this story and allow it to breathe the air of modern life is no easy feat. Joel Petrie has stumbled upon something messy, but magnificent; flawed, but fun; busy but bold. It has taken nearly 50 years to find a version of Shakespeare's ode to forbidden love that I enjoy since the 1968 film; because of this, I hope this film's bounty is as boundless as the sea.
