Baz Luhrmann's Production of Romeo and Juliet

Baz Luhrmann's Production of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo seems like a passionate, romantic and excitable young man. He

seems to like the idea of being in love, although I would suggest the

feelings he has for Juliet begin only as infatuation and grow

throughout the balcony scene.

In the beginning of the scene Romeo is portrayed as determined, wary

and possibly a little frightened as he knocks over furniture and

scrambles up the trellis. His eyes are continuously darting around and

you get a sense of desperation because he is panting. When he climbs

the trellis in the hope of seeing Juliet but discovers the nurse

instead, his facial expression turns from one of lust and longing, to

one of utter disgust and horror. When Romeo scurries down the trellis,

his demeanour is hurried and rushed and we get a sense of urgency as

he holds his breath.

When Juliet appears from the elevator, he is flattered that she is

speaking of him "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" After a

short while he begins to shadow her, seemingly taken aback by her

affectionate remarks and breathtaking beauty.

Romeo seems almost intoxicated by Juliet; he continuously gazes deep

into her eyes and follows her very closely throughout the scene. When

he kisses her although tenderly, I get a sense of hunger and passion;

he is smitten by every word, which seems to make his infatuation grow.

However, he also shows foolish bravado in the swimming pool when he

shouts, "thy kinsmen are no stop to me".

Romeo's character in this film also outlines how impulsive and rash he

is, as he does not object when Juliet proposes marriage, but instead

smiles dreamily into...

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...ry, they give

importance to the statements. You may also note that Romeo's final

speech is delivered as poetic imagery, which is especially effective

in portraying love.

Some of Shakespeare's imagery presents popular representations of that

era. At the time, religion was very important, so by including

religious imagery, for example Juliet appearing angelic, it portrays

Romeo and Juliet's love as heavenly and beautiful, something that was

fated or meant to be.

Shakespeare's natural ability for the language of love is astounding

and impressive and he applies this with unmistakable talent. Without

Shakespeare's competence with rhyme and imagery, the dialect would

never have been so rich. The language of Shakespeare is full of

humour, insults, irony and word play and is a joy to observe and a

delight to study.