Romeo And Juliet Adaptations

In the film Romeo+Juliet (1996), Luhrmann puts a new, fresh spin on Shakespeare’s classic play, Romeo and Juliet. While staying somewhat true to the original play, he shapes the dialogue, acting, and setting to bring the star crossed lovers into the present. This makes it more appealing and approachable to a modern audience.
One might argue that the mixture of modern scenery and accents and Shakespearean English is an unsatisfying hybrid, and that a remake should either edit the language so it sounds more modern, or recreate it in Shakespeare’s time period. However it is a measure of an actor’s (or actress’ skill) when they can imply modern connotations while still staying true to the script. For instance, when Claire Danes contemplates Romeo’s name (II.ii.40-42) “It is nor hand nor foot, Nor arm nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man,” the way she breaks into a smile while saying ‘nor any other part belonging to a man’ coupled with the stress on ‘any other part,’ she moves away from the stereotype that Juliet is an innocent schoolgirl, and portrays Juliet as a confident, sexually aware, sophisticated young lady with a sense of humor.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of Romeo also breaks conventional molds. He portrays Romeo as much more than just a suave young man with a pretty face. His Romeo is clumsy, passionate, irrational
The actors’ features bely their genders. Claire Danes has strong features, a strong forehead and brow, commonly seen as masculine, while Leonardo DiCaprio, although older, retains his boyish, soft features, often considered by society to be feminine. In contrast their voices typify their gender. Claire’s soft, melodic voice is a welcoming juxtaposition to Leonardo’s low, raspy voice. Together their voices sing a pleasing duet. In the scenes in which they are together, they create a believable, impulsive, sweet couple which makes their demise that much more