Critical Evaluation of "Romeo and Juliet" By Baz Luhrmann

Although the families have their distinctive dress senses Romeo and Juliet both dress differently. When the audience first sees Romeo he is not dressed in beachwear, he is dressed formally. This shows that he is not like the rest of his family. Juliet also dresses differently; she is always seen in white to signify her pure and angelic form. She changes from white to black later on in the film, this is when she realises she is alone and she isn't like her family even if she wants to be. Her family disown her when she expresses her distress at the thought of having to marry Paris as she secretly loves Romeo. Another even more important way that Luhrmann shows Juliet is different is that she is white while her family are Hispanic.

Another way Luhrmann gets round the difficult language of the film is by his use of casting. The two family leaders Lord Capulet and Lord Montague, played by Paul Sorvino and Brian Dennehy respectively have played many roles as gangsters. This gives the audience the right impression of them, nasty and unfriendly characters. Luhrmann also recruited Leonardo Di-Caprio, voted "The Most Handsome Peron on the Planet" who had a huge fan base before "Romeo and Juliet" so many of his young female fans would go to see the film just to see him. It would also make the film more enjoyable for them. Claire Danes was chosen to play the part of Juliet because she is pretty but not glamorous and this would make girls think that they don't have to be perfect to find a boyfriend. She had also never had a major role in a film before so this would mean she would not bring

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any past roles into the film which would damage her credibility as the angelic Juliet.

Luhrmann made some questionable decisions whilst making "Romeo and Juliet" like setting it in modern times and keeping the Shakespearian language, another was choosing to introduce drugs into the film. Romeo takes an ecstasy tablet before the party but he sincerely regretted it after as it ruined his party. He took the ecstasy because Mercutio gave him it and through a mix of peer pressure and not wanting to offend Mercutio he takes the drug. Luhrmann is critical and makes a bad impression of them in the hope that some people will be deterred by the way Romeo's party is ruined by drugs. Drugs is a major issue in modern days so this is yet another way in which some of the audience can relate to the film as some people may have had experiences with drugs and need to deal with them.

Luhrmann's use of the music in the film is very helpful for people who can't understand the language of the film. The film starts with a lot of action and confrontations so the music is frantic and sounds like western cowboy-showdown music. By contrast, the first time the audience meets Romeo the music is very calm and soothing to show Romeo is very mellow and not looking for trouble or fights. The music also helps people know if something bad is going to happen. For example when Romeo and Juliet marry the music is happy and merry but for the next scene it changes to very deep and dramatic music, this is just before Mercutio is killed. When Romeo and Juliet realise they can never be the music changes to sad music. Some people may not have caught on to what was happening without the music but it changes effectively to show they can never be together.

In conclusion, Luhrmann's techniques of producing a "Romeo and Juliet" film that appeals to a young audience were somewhat successful. Although the Shakespearian language is very difficult to understand at times young viewers still watch and enjoy the film.