Romeo + Juliet
Romeo + Juliet: a comparison of articles.
James Berardinelli [from here on he will be referred to as “JB”]
JB awards the movie, “Romeo + Juliet” with three out of four stars. In the article he makes his opinion clear, and he mentions that you can’t really compare this edition of Romeo and Juliet with the romantic classic made by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968. Additionally, JB adds that Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes do not properly portray the iconic love between Romeo and his Juliet.
‘’While Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes make an effective couple, their romance doesn’t burn with the white-hot intensity of Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey’s.’’
In the review JB adds; ‘’Romeo and Juliet’s camera is restless, always moving’’ and by this he means to say that the main story is sort of blurred out, by all of the distracting side-stories. The sometimes very hasty cuts, and disturbing soundtrack can give problems with the audience because of its similarity with a music video. The special effects and scenery chosen by director Baz Luhrmann is not only distracting and confusing, but it also causes us to lose focus on the classic romantic love story by William Shakespeare. Another thing JB is not amused by is the performance of Leonardo DiCaprio, and he even says that some of the lines that he delivers “sounds forced”. Claire Danes on the other hand, he is very impressed by, and even though she was only 16 at the time he calls her performance “breathtaking”.
“Danes makes breathtaking Juliet, merging strength and fragility into one. DiCaprio isn’t quite as successful as Romeo; there are times when his delivery of Shakespeare’s dialogue sounds forced.’’
On the contrary JB mentions that he thinks that Miriam Margolyes portrayal of the nurse is fantastic, but there are also some of the actors that could have been spared. I.e. Brian Dennehy as Lord Montague, Paul Rudd’s Paris and Jesse Bradford’s Balthazar.
JB does not think that this movie is memorable, but
James Berardinelli [from here on he will be referred to as “JB”]
JB awards the movie, “Romeo + Juliet” with three out of four stars. In the article he makes his opinion clear, and he mentions that you can’t really compare this edition of Romeo and Juliet with the romantic classic made by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968. Additionally, JB adds that Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes do not properly portray the iconic love between Romeo and his Juliet.
‘’While Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes make an effective couple, their romance doesn’t burn with the white-hot intensity of Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey’s.’’
In the review JB adds; ‘’Romeo and Juliet’s camera is restless, always moving’’ and by this he means to say that the main story is sort of blurred out, by all of the distracting side-stories. The sometimes very hasty cuts, and disturbing soundtrack can give problems with the audience because of its similarity with a music video. The special effects and scenery chosen by director Baz Luhrmann is not only distracting and confusing, but it also causes us to lose focus on the classic romantic love story by William Shakespeare. Another thing JB is not amused by is the performance of Leonardo DiCaprio, and he even says that some of the lines that he delivers “sounds forced”. Claire Danes on the other hand, he is very impressed by, and even though she was only 16 at the time he calls her performance “breathtaking”.
“Danes makes breathtaking Juliet, merging strength and fragility into one. DiCaprio isn’t quite as successful as Romeo; there are times when his delivery of Shakespeare’s dialogue sounds forced.’’
On the contrary JB mentions that he thinks that Miriam Margolyes portrayal of the nurse is fantastic, but there are also some of the actors that could have been spared. I.e. Brian Dennehy as Lord Montague, Paul Rudd’s Paris and Jesse Bradford’s Balthazar.
JB does not think that this movie is memorable, but