In the build up to the fight the hand –held camera effect helps to bring the audience in to the fight. Its as though you are there amongst the action. It also helps you feel the emotions going on in the film. The high tension and adrenaline rush.
After Romeo kills Tybalt there is 45 seconds of complete silence. This shows the complete shock Romeo is feeling. It also shows the seriousness of the situation. People automatically associate silence with seriousness.
During the fight between Tybalt and Romeo there is a huge emphasis on the gunshot and the dropping of the gun. Luhrman uses sound effects to echo the sound of the gunshot and it is also played in slow motion so the audience focuses on it even more. When Romeo drops the gun there is a long clear camera shot of it. There is some kind of religious symbol on the gun. Once again there are implications of God, which relates to one of the Ten Commandments, ‘though shalt not kill’. These religious motifs are continued throughout the whole film. It is a clever way of relating this modern film version back to the original play. During the period when the play was written there was a lot of focus on religion, if you didn’t attend church regularly then you were sure to go the hell and were unrespectable and unwanted. For Romeo to kill Tybalt was a huge deal. He disgraced his family and himself.
Before Romeo kills Tybalt, Tybalt kills Mercutio. The high number of deaths in this scene makes it highly dramatic.
Mercutio wears a white shirt, which shows his innocence and neutrality. Also the white shirt is of use to show his wound when Tybalt kills him. You can clearly see the blood on his shirt, which adds to the drama of the scene. He only fights because Romeo refuses to and because he is a friend of the Montague family he sees it as his duty to stand up for them. Just before Mercutio dies he shouts ‘A plague o’ both your houses.’ It echoes all around the beach to emphasize the effect of his words. He blames his death on the feud between the two families. He curses their families. Ignoring the fact that he stepped into the fight of his own accord. When the fight started the beach was full of people and the weather was warm, bright and sunny, to reflect the lighthearted mood the Montagues were in as the fight started. Also as Romeo enters, there is soft mellow music playing, to suggest that he wants to make peace, not fight. At Tybalts entrance a cool, dramatic type of music is played to suggest he has a score to settle with Romeo. Each character has themed music to reflect their personality and mood. It also shows the difference between the families and their hate for each other. Now the crowds have cleared and the beach is deserted apart from the feuding Montagues and Capulets and a storm is approaching in the background. As Mercutio dies the storm begins to break, it is as if the storm reflects Romeo’s mood. It symbolizes all the grief and anger he feels at Mercutio’s death. At Mercutio’s death there is a loud bang of thunder followed by very heavy, intense music to show that a tragedy has just taken place. There is a lot of emphasis on car engines too, the mix of sounds and the fast paced camera shots point out how frantic and confused everything is, as Romeo sets of to pursue Tybalt and avenge Mercutio.
The car chase scene is extremely fast paced and very loud to emphasize the whirl of emotions going on in Romeo’s and Tybalt’s heads. Everything is emphasized showing that Romeo’s senses are on high and alert due to the adrenaline rush he received from his anger at Mercutio’s death. Luhrman is trying to show the audience that Romeo has let his emotions take over, he’s not in control anymore.
After Mercutio dies there is a cut to a shot of Juliet looking love struck over Romeo, it then cuts to a shot of Romeo in the car looking maddened by grief. And then after Romeo kills Tybalt it cuts to Juliet again, she is looking over her shoulder, it is as if she felt what just happened to her cousin Tybalt. This editing shows that Tybalts death is the turning point in the play. And as it cuts back to Romeo, both he and the audience realises that what he has done will curse his marriage further and lead to banishment.
At the beginning of the scene you see the Montagues on the beach, all wearing brightly coloured modern clothing, like Hawaiian shirts etc. This reflects the happy mood at the beginning. The Montague boys all wear their shirts unbuttoned to show they're laid back attitude whereas the Capulets are dressed quite formally. Then the Capulets arrive all dressed in black to seem intimidating. Their clothes represent their anger and hate for the Montagues. As the scene moves along and the mood becomes darker so does the lighting and colours. The clouds move across the sky and cast a shadow on the Montagues and Capulets as if to imply a plague moving over the houses of Montague and Capulet. At the end of the scene when the prince announces Romeo’s banishment everyone but lady Capulet is dressed in dark colours. She says “Romeo slew Tybalt, Romeo must not live.” She is obviously very angry at the death of her kinsman and she is dressed in bright red, perhaps to reflect her anger at Tybalts death.
During the fight scene between Romeo and Tybalt, the costumes worn make a huge difference in the film. Tybalt is wearing a black shirt, which makes his injuries much less obvious, and so it makes the audience sympathise with Romeo, as his wounds are much clearer.
As well as modern colouring there is also modern movement and gestures. For example as Mercutio makes a joke out of the word ‘blow’ he lifts his shirt and shakes his bum at Tybalt in as a taunt. The Montague boys act as typical teenagers, play fighting with each other and not taking life to seriously. In another scene you see them playing pool, like typical teenagers would. This allows a teenage audience to relate to the characters and empathise with them, whereas they would find it slightly harder to relate to the more adult Capulets.
When it cuts to the scene in Juliet’s room there is a romantic, peaceful feeling. She is surrounded by candles and religious figurines, a shocking contrast compared to the previous scene, where Mercutio was just murdered. This grabs the audience’s attention, due to the sharp change and makes them pay attention to the film more closely. Also the scene shows Juliet’s innocence, she is blissfully unaware of the tragedy taking place and the fate of her new husband. The religious motifs appear again through the figurines, again relating back to the time period of the original play.
Luhrman uses young, attractive actors for the main characters, which are appealing to the modern youth.
As Tybalt dies, a short scene with Juliet is edited in. This helps us to understand her thoughts and feelings at the time. It also helps the scene to flow through into the next, making it easier for the audience to follow the film.
Overall the scene is extremely well directed. Baz Luhrman has used camera, music, sound, editing, characterisation, colour and lighting to great effect. You can easily understand what’s going on and it’s easy for the modern audience to relate to the characters and see what emotions they’re going through.
