Douglas Booth
Hailee Steinfeld
Damian Lewis
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Ed Westwick
Stellan Skarsgård
Paul Giamatti

Julian Fellowes

118 mins.
Drama, Romance, Tragedy
October 11, 2013

Rated PG-13 for some violence and thematic elements. (MPAA)

Yet another film adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” has been made. This time, the adaptation comes to us from the pen of Julian Fellowes and is directed by Carlo Carlei. Fellowes altered the dialogue, though some of the lines are the same and all of it’s still in Shakespeare’s style … that helped no one.

This adaptation’s filmed in the style of modern Jane Austen films, and the music fits right in with that. So it looks good, and it has music that’s sweeping and spirited. However, as with lots of modern adaptations of Shakespeare, the acting’s underwhelming. You can’t underplay Shakespeare (or anything else in his style, for that matter) and expect to succeed. Yes, this is a film, but it’s a film of a Shakespearean tragedy. Check out Zeffirelli’s version to see how it should be done (this version is set in Renaissance Verona, as well). Even Baz Luhrmann’s version got it fairly right: Luhrmann’s bombastic style married well with the material. In this film, most of the actors simply say their lines like they’re reciting prose instead of poetry. Where’s the rhythm, the musicality, the dynamics?

The leads, Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld, don’t seem to get the depth of Romeo’s and Juliet’s love. This is serious stuff; it’s a tragedy, after all. The intensity of their love is the setup for their tragic end. That intensity isn’t present here: I have no idea why they fell so hard for each other based on these performances. They don’t even use the Oh’s correctly – a telling sign.

The saving grace is Paul Giamatti as Friar Laurence. Giamatti knows what he’s doing. He finds the music and playfulness in Fellowes’ script and makes it all work for film; everything seems right when he’s speaking. While the other actors who play the adult characters don’t embarrass themselves, they don’t make Fellowes’ adaptation sing.

So, while many critics have stated that Fellowes’ shallow script is the problem, he’s not the only one to blame. But I have to admit that he did change the ending a bit, and that was completely unnecessary: (Spoiler alert!) Romeo drinks the poison, but Juliet awakens and kisses him BEFORE he dies. She watches him die, shoos the Friar away after he enters to bid her away, then daggers herself. How lovely. (End of Spoiler Alert!)

I think that Giamatti proves that this script could’ve been presented much more effectively. They should’ve adapted “Romeo & Juliet” to be from the point-of-view of the Friar. Now that might’ve been interesting.

Verdict: Pretty Bad

About: (Source: facebook.com/romeoandjuliet)

In the fair city of Verona, Romeo (Douglas Booth) and Juliet (Hailee Steinfeld), children of the feuding Montague and Capulet families, meet at a feast and fall deeply in love. Despite the sworn contempt their families hold for each another, they steal away and are secretly wed. It is not long, however, before a chain of fateful events changes the lives of both families forever. Directed by Carlo Carlei and with a screenplay by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey), Romeo & Juliet is a Swarovski Entertainment production.