Romeo & Juliet - Baz Luhrmann Production.

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Romeo & Juliet

Baz Luhrmann Production

1(i) Characters and Characteristics

Romeo Montague

Romeo seems like a passionate, romantic and excitable young man.  He seems to like the idea of being in love, although I would suggest the feelings he has for Juliet begin only as infatuation and grow throughout the balcony scene.  

In the beginning of the scene Romeo is portrayed as determined, wary and possibly a little frightened as he knocks over furniture and scrambles up the trellis.  His eyes are continuously darting around and you get a sense of desperation because he is panting.  When he climbs the trellis in the hope of seeing Juliet but discovers the nurse instead, his facial expression turns from one of lust and longing, to one of utter disgust and horror.  When Romeo scurries down the trellis, his demeanour is hurried and rushed and we get a sense of urgency as he holds his breath.

When Juliet appears from the elevator, he is flattered that she is speaking of him “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”  After a short while he begins to shadow her, seemingly taken aback by her affectionate remarks and breathtaking beauty.

Romeo seems almost intoxicated by Juliet; he continuously gazes deep into her eyes and follows her very closely throughout the scene.  When he kisses her although tenderly, I get a sense of hunger and passion; he is smitten by every word, which seems to make his infatuation grow.  However, he also shows foolish bravado in the swimming pool when he shouts, “thy kinsmen are no stop to me”.

Romeo’s character in this film also outlines how impulsive and rash he is, as he does not object when Juliet proposes marriage, but instead smiles dreamily into her eyes.  He seems devastated when they have to part “Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books, but love from love, toward school with heavy looks.”

Romeo is in love with the idea of love and during the course of the scene he is portrayed as romantic and passionate but also appears to be irrational, impulsive and desperate because he is so agreeable.

Karen Clark

27th October 2003

Romeo & Juliet

Baz Luhrmann Production

1(i) Characters and Characteristics

Juliet Capulet

Juliet seems like a thoughtful, sensible and practical young girl.  When she enters the scene we see her deep in thought.  It is soon obvious that she is quite upset as she leans against the statue with her hand on her hip and a look of dismay on her face as she says “Ay me!”

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Juliet’s body language expresses her annoyance; her arms are folded when she talks about rebelling against their family names; “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet;” Although when she remarks “Doff thy name” her expression and speech has changed and become quite dreamy.  In this section of the scene we also see the child in Juliet; When she says “nor any other part belonging to a man” she almost laughs, as a child would laugh with innocent embarrassment about a mans anatomy.

She appears frightened but practical ...

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