The director uses this upbeat music and dancing to emphasize the atmosphere in the Capulet mansion. Everyone is having a good time getting drunk and dancing, while Romeo is starting to feel out of place and trying to find a way out, this is shown by the hand held camera suddenly starting to dart around.
All the sounds are significantly louder and sharper than usual because Romeo is high and his senses are very acute so he can here every little thing.
You notice that in this scene the camera cuts from Romeo to Mercutio to Capulet to Tybalt, it doesn’t focus on one person, which again helps us know how Romeo might be feeling. At the very beginning you do get the feeling of Romeo being very intimidated by all the people around him, this lets us know that he probably hasn’t taken drugs like that before. The way that the camera starts to circle Romeo shows that he is slowly becoming almost unconscious and the scene moves cleverly on as if the changing of the location is also the change happening in Romeos mind.
The costume he wears adds to the mise en scene his armour represents his role in the film, he is the knight who saves Juliet who is in the form of an angel, that’s how everyone see’s her. Capulet is a god because he rules over the mansion and his wife is Cleopatra who was the Queen of Egypt but here is the queen of the mansion.
Later on we see him with his head in the water, we see him take off his mask and throws it in the basin. This might suggest that his fake identity has fallen another form of mirroring. When the mask comes off the music then starts to slowly play, the music is slow to suggest a romantic moment is about to happen, the director is playing with our emotions here. He knows what is going to happen next so he is giving us a clue, and keeping us on the edge of our seats constantly. The music soothes Romeo as he takes in everything around him everyone else also becomes still and quiet taking in the beauty of the song. It also reflects the mood of Romeo he is quite sultry and so the music is added to compliment this, it is a score about that first moment kissing someone, this is key to the sequence as later on we see Romeo and Juliet kissing in the elevator. It is a very obvious contrast to the previous music.
Before he moves away from the sink the camera cuts to a point of view shot of him looking around, this could suggest that someone is watching him. He then walks towards the fish tank and the camera or person is tracking him as again we watch him from behind, this time though he spots what ever is watching him and turns around to face Juliet. This really adds to the mood of the scene, as it is quite a romantic moment as they both follow each other’s eyes, flirting, the tank clearly being a symbol of the barrier between their love. The fish also could represent a different world that they are both in.
The camera movement is very slow here so as not to distract us from what is clearly emerging between them. Its almost as if the camera is our eyes following their every move like a spy, the camera mirrors Romeos movements.
Then there is a long romantic scene where Romeo and Juliet use a lot of eye contact in their flirting and the camera doesn’t move too much except it cuts to Romeo and Juliet separately to see each other’s reaction but while you see one reaction you see the other through the fish tank. Which is nice and simple but very effective because it’s almost as if there already, she can look but she can’t touch and it’s the same with him.
It’s all interrupted when the nurse comes in and all of a sudden the camera focuses on Juliet being taken away by the nurse by jumping from focusing on Romeo chasing Juliet to the nurse dragging Juliet away. This is very clever because it takes us out of our romantic trance and back to the real world where we know that Romeo and Juliet cannot be together.
When the nurse and Juliet are rushing back to the party Romeo rushes after them. This is reflected in the camera movement as it has gone from moving slowly and smoothly to rough and fast.
Neither the camera nor the characters stop moving till Juliet is forced to dance with Paris. Her mother who is the one forcing her to dance is now pleased that she has gained some control over her daughter. Paris is wearing an astronaughts costume this could quite easily suggest that he thinks very highly of himself.
When they start dancing the camera becomes still again and the music lowers back down, this is so we can focus on the couple dancing, we know that Juliet is not interested in Paris which makes this shot even more interesting. This scene has the potential to be romantic but is deliberately interrupted by Mercutio insisting that Romeo leaves.
