Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Baz Luhrmann: Romes + Jules. Good/Bad? Eh.

We just finished watching Baz Luhrmann's interpretation of the famous, Romeo and Juliet in class. I'm just going to say it right now- I didn't like it. 

Romeo + Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is about a pair of "star cross'd lovers" who dies because of their families differences and fighting. It's supposed to be a tragedy. Right? Right, well I guess not according to Baz Luhrmann. I found it more as a comedy rather a tragedy. Why?, you ask.

Kay, let me tell you why.

 Luhrmann stated, "The language was always going to be the challenge. How to hold a modern audience with a language they didn't know and probably presumed would be too hard? The secret key is visual clues."
Which I actually, agree with it. In the interpretation, he included color, weather and great acting, which is good since he's trying to modernize Romeo + Juliet. I praise Luhrmann for being so creative, and trying to modernize it to fit an audience that is not so used to artsy language. The color in the movie was incredible- for darker, more sad scenes he made the color darker and for happier scenes, he made the color lighter. The weather was great too, especially the scene of Mercutio's death- the power of the storm in that scene, wow. It blew me away. Especially to know it's not fake, but it was real according to Luhrmann, And as for the acting, amazing as well- who could have not been a better Romeo than the Mister Romeo, Leonardo DiCaprio himself. Luhrmann seemed to have thought it all out perfectly. 

If I just complimented Luhrmann, then why are you bashing him in the beginning? I'll tell you why now.
Because he tried to make it too modern. Since it's a tragedy, you'd expect me to "cry" more rather laugh- I tell you the opposite, because it's the truth. In the beginning, the fight scene between the Montagues + Capulets was a complete joke. Even though the modern<old aspect was ingenious, the way it was set up I guess wasn't just right for this story. No, not Romeo + Juliet- please, don't mess up the classics.

Even though I didn't like it, I'm glad Ms. Robbins showed it to us. I'm glad, because otherwise I feel like I would have been lost while reading the play. I mean, I have a pretty good hang of what's going on, but the visual that comes up in my head is really, from Baz Luhrmann's version.

I mean, I would recommend if you want to see something quick + easy to get an idea of R & J.

From the poster: hope, despair, and tragedy? LAWL
how about: laugh, smile and _____ (fill in the blank!)

Zarrin 813.