BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Desertman84 Watching this film only gives only provides me more reasons to love the 1968 Romeo And Juliet film that starred Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey.This 2013 film adaptation is definitely a poor version of the William Shakeaspere tragic play of romance.Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld,who stars as Romeo and Juliet respectively,simply lacks the passion,energy and realism as the star-crossed lovers of feuding Verona and Montague families. It was nothing to the performances of Whiting and Hussey. Too bad that the decent performances of the other stars or the so-called "adults" such as Damian Lewis,Kodi Smit-McPhee,Ed Westwick,Stellan Skarsgård and Paul Giamatti are not and will never be enough to compensate for the poor performances of the lead stars.What's worse,it also does not use the written dialogues of Shakespeare in it.Parts of it were only used.It only follows the plot of the play and the Verona setting.Nothing more.Too bad that people looking forward to this film felt cheated thus arising the controversy for false advertising.Or better yet,the film simply did not meet the standard for it lacks passion,romance,lyricism and eroticism expected from any Romeo And Juliet film.Truly disappointing.No question that the 1968 version remains the best film adaptation ever made.

Armand or only decent. its virtue is not the acting - with few exceptions- or the Shakespeare's adaptation. its virtue is not the ambition to give a new Romeo and Juliet ignoring, too easy, the force, the flavor, the precision of the original.its virtue is not the slices of Zeffirelli 's version who are the subject of comparison. its good part is the wall of old buildings, costumes, Paul Giamatti. and the lead actors for youth, beauty and the good intentions. is it enough ? maybe not. but it could be a beginning. because , in fact, it is only an exercise. the play remains for each reader. the film remains only a proposition. so, a beautiful film. or only decent. nice. and far to be a real masterpiece. enjoy it !

isabelometto Romeo and Juliet: the story of an impossible love and an incredible passion that made generations dream for centuries. The plot is well known by everyone: an ancient grudge divides two families of Verona, the Montagues and the Capulets. Young Romeo, heir of the Montagues, falls for the beautiful Juliet, daughter of the rival family. They marry in secret but the murder of Juliet's cousin Tybald by the hand of Romeo, leads to a series of events which will result in the tragic death of the two lovers, putting an end to the conflict between the two families.The question now is: was there really the need of another version of the Shakespearean love drama? The answer is, probably no.Whereas the most traditional version of Romeo and Juliet, namely Zeffirelli's, captures the real magic of two young, impatient lovers and the tragedy of their story, Carlei's version hardly seems to be achieving the same. Although Carlei obviously had Zeffirelli's version in mind, which is noticeable from the setting and on-shot locations, he lacks the power to make this film work properly.In my opinion the main issue concerns the casting of the two lovers: Romeo, interpreted by Douglas Booth, seems directly taken from an Abercrombie campaign. Juliet's role was given to Hailee Stainfeld, who looks like a cute but ordinary teenage girl and fails to convey the passion she feels for Romeo. The lack of chemistry and erotic energy between the two protagonists makes us focus our attention on other characters such as Friar Lawrence (Paul Giamatti) and the Nurse (Lesley Manville), whose good acting makes us sigh with relief. I also found the music quite distracting at times – as in the balcony scene, where it cuts through the lines (which are not well delivered in the first place). Were they trying to hide the bad acting? Had they kept the original dialogue, they wouldn't have needed such an intruding soundtrack, since Shakespeare's lines are poetic and musical in themselves.Moreover, the language chosen seems, to me, inadequate. Even though some of the original dialogue has been kept, it is often intertwined with bits and pieces of modern expressions. The result is a weird and indefinable language that sounds old but lacks poetry and musicality. Lines are shortened, dialogues are compressed; even the balcony scene, the most famous of the whole play, was not kept like the original. Instead the director added new and unnecessary scenes. We even see Rosaline at the party acting almost as if she were jealous of Romeo's interest for Juliet, which is a bit too close to a soap opera. Nevertheless, this oversimplification can be helpful for students who are not native speakers and who want to start approaching the play in a facilitated manner. In this case, the film can act as a stepping-stone, but is certainly not enough to appreciate the true Romeo and Juliet. The magic of Shakespeare's words is lost in this adaptation. Moreover, the umpteenth adaptation of Romeo and Juliet would need a new, innovative turn that would justify the spending of over 20 million dollars for something so predictable. After Zeffirelli's "classic" version of the drama, Luhrman did well and gave a new interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, changing the setting and incorporating modern elements, making us look at the story from a different perspective. Carlei on the other hand only produced a 21st century remake of Zeffirelli's film. Even though the costuming is impeccable and the locations breathtaking, there is no Romeo and Juliet without actors who succeed in conveying the passion, love and desire of the two protagonists.In conclusion, Carlei's adaptation becomes ineffective since it doesn't bring anything original to the story, limiting itself to a successful reconstruction of the scenography. The product is a film that could have worked if the director had given a personal imprint to the drama. Ultimately, unlike other versions such as Luhrman's (which can be appreciated or not), it lacks a soul. We waited 16 years for a new Romeo and Juliet to appear on screen, and I would have been happy to wait a little longer to see a different, fresh adaptation of the most famous love story of all times.

megan-donohoe30 Romeo and Juliet (2013)-Film Review, By Megan Donohoe Romeo and Juliet is the widely know classic tragedy play by William Shakespeare. The tragic tale of two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who are enemies in name, torn apart by their families, The House of Montague and The House of Capulet, who are both well respected families who have carried a truculent attitude towards each other for generations. But even so Romeo and Juliet fall in love but ultimately since the very beginning, their future is in jeopardy ,with the tragic chain of events that take place throughout the play its seems that faith itself wants to teach these two young lovers a lesson they would both never forget. Julian Fellows the Oscar- winning actor and writer took Shakespeare's traditional classic tale of star-crossed lovers and adapted a 21st century version of Romeo and Juliet. Julian Fellows, who is best known for Downton Abbey, created his own adaptation of Romeo and Juliet but unfortunately he diminishes the original power that the script of Romeo and Juliet held with the amount of changes he makes to the script. He tones down the text of the Bards original form to create a more simplified version for its modern audience but in doing so he loses the emotional and narrative essence that is Romeo and Juliet. This adaptation was directed by Italian director Carlo Carlei who has a background of directing TV movies and unfortunately his version of Romeo and Juliet seems to be made for the small screen too. He is not imaginative in terms of context but he does bring a materialistic and authentic visual of the world of Romeo and Juliet as it is filmed in Verona where the tale originally takes place. There are spectacular visual shots of Verona filled with lavish costumes and sets with the rich visuals of the stunning costumes in the ballroom scene and the beautiful romantic scenery he creates in the balcony scene. Unfortunately although Carlei captures the world that is Romeo and Juliet he fails to produce the sizzling romantic and emotional atmosphere that is present in the tale. There is a presence of emptiness in scenes, a stillness that is frequent in the film. Also with his use of endless close-ups of the actors especially of Romeo who is played by Douglas Booth, who is as equally if not more pretty as Juliet played by Hailee Steinfield, become intrusive. The tale of Romeo and Juliet is suppose to make women swoon, especially over Romeo which Douglas booth will have no problem with but with the amount of shots and close-ups of him, over time it becomes quite comical. Both Hailee Steinfield and Douglas Booth look the part as the titular lovers and although they both hold a strong performance they lack the strong passionate chemistry that Romeo and Juliet hold in the play. Their chemistry is tamed which should be the complete opposite. Also with a cast of excellent and solid actors most of the adult characters outshine the lead ones. Paul Giamatti who plays the Friar Laurence gives a powerful and emotional performance. He is in a way the heart and centre of the film as he grasps the characters wide range of emotions throughout the movie. In the dramatic climatic scene in the third act Giamatti gives an emotional sensation to the scene that makes it heart breaking to watch. Also Juliets nurse played by Lesley Manville gives both a charming and heart breaking performance as Juliet's mother-like side kick. Both Manville and Giamatti almost seem to play the leads of the movie with both of their performances as they both out shine the titular leads when they are on screen with them. The rest of the cast also in performance outshine the leads with their solid acting, like Kodi Smit-Mcphee as serious minded Benevolio, Ed Westick as the reckless Tybalt, Natascha McElhone as Lady Capulet and Damien Lewis as the forceful yet unassertive Lord Capulet. The only actor that feels distant or out of place is Stellen Skarsgard, who plays the Prince of Verona with less anger but more menacing and unfeeling towards the two families when he is suppose to just want peace between them in the play. Overall Julian Fellows and Carlo Carleis adaptation of Romeo and Juliet falls flat and is the most forgetful adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in with all the other adaptations. Although there were good decisions with the casting as most actors did give terrific performances and the melodramatic soundtrack by Abel Korzeniowski was sweet to listen to and added emotion to scenes when needed the writing and the direction of the movies was weak and dull as it doesn't feel emotional or inspiring enough for a tale that is one of the most romantic and tragic tales in history.