The film was shot in Mexico but was portrayed as Miami. It was shot in Mexico to allow the actors to get the feeling of a hot environment, to get aggression and sense of gangland. It was also shot in Mexico to get the mood and the realistic affect of fighting. The setting is Miami to portray the vibrant, glamorous, glitzy life of two powerful families.
The wealth of the two families can be seen in many shots. The wealth is shown from the starting of the film with a camera shot showing the sports cars and the private number plates. Then later on the limousines are shown which also portray the wealth. Their wealth is also shown by the clothing that they wear. They have expensive suits which show the wealth, the wealth is also shown by the gold rings and chains the fathers are wearing. Then in act one scene three the wealth of the Capulet family is shown by Lady Capulet dressing up and wearing a lot of jewels. The wealth of the Capulets is also portrayed by showing their mansion. The cars symbolise the personalities and the moods of the characters, the parent’s cars are calm and expensive like them. The youth have sports cars and the roaring sound of the engines symbolise the anger that is present in the atmosphere. The wealth is also shown by the guns; every gun has been personalised. All the main things in this paragraph money, cars, limousines, private number plates, gold and personalised guns show the modern world so Luhrmann has succeeded to appeal to the modern audience.
The city in Luhrmann’s film is shown not as Verona but ha a beach that is named Verona Beach where the youth hang out. This is because the film is a modern adaptation of the play. This beach is the very place where Mercutio gets killed. The aggression is shown by the sky; it gets dark and dull when there is aggression in the atmosphere. This camera effect is computer generated however it looks very real and is an interesting concept by Luhrmann.
There is a lot of aggression in the film so much that the film starts showing the feud at the petrol pump, the fire that occurs at the petrol pump symbolises aggression and the feud. The aggression is also shown by the weather. The king of the feud is Tybalt. He treats the gun as his god. However, there is chief of police to portray law and order as the Prince of Verona. Again the petrol pump shows that the film is a modern version of Romeo and Juliet.
The families are very wealthy. The Montagues are naturally very wealthy and they have only one son, Romeo. Luhrmann has modernised the character of Romeo, he has given him a modern look. Romeo in this film is dressed in a suit so that he can appeal to the modern audience as he is wearing modern clothes and has turned into a modern character. Luhrmann has portrayed Romeo as a James Dean figure; he has made Romeo a rebel like James Dean.
The friendship in the film is strong between the characters Mercutio, Benvolio and Romeo. They are all very close and helpful to each other, the film has been modernised but this component of the film is older as the bond between these three friends is unbreakable. They can only be separated by death. They are shown to have a very strong relationship.
However as there are friends there are also enemies and the enemies are also modern. They have human enemies, Tybalt, and also social / environmental enemy, drugs. There are guns instead of swords to fight human enemies but they don’t have anything to fight drugs. Luhrmann has used drugs to show the modern world, to appeal to the modern audience. He has made the film very visual and the actors have played their roles brilliantly. The film speaks for itself.
Luhrmann has chosen to show the multi cultural society of America by having a black actor as Mercutio. He is a confident, vibrant, visually stunning character. He is used to taking drugs and this aspect also shows the modern world. He is the person who has brought humour into the film to keep the audience interested in the film. When the camera shows Mercutio dressed like a woman before the party the audience can’t take their eyes off him, the camera shot that shows Mercutio dressed like a woman is a long camera shot.
The Capulet’s have a one and only daughter, Juliet. Her character is shown like a modern woman, it is shown that she is a modern woman who knows what she wants and I am saying this because she is the one who steps forward and takes charge, when Romeo and Juliet meet after the party.
The film shows modern words by showing fireworks before the party. In the party Romeo is dressed like a Knight and Juliet is dressed like an angel. There costumes are modern.
The balcony scene has been shot in the swimming pool instead of the balcony because the swimming pool is much more exotic and erotic so it is the perfect place in a modern adaptation.
Luhrmann has changed so much but has not touched the story he has only modernised the play but not changed it. He has kept the language the same because he has created such a visually stunning film that film speaks for itself. Overall Luhrmann has managed to modernise Romeo and Juliet very well.
