Compare And Contrast Romeo And Juliet

Riley Kilcup
Honors 9th Grade
Mrs. Gillard
4/3/23
The 1996 film version of “Romeo and Juliet”, an engaging movie with a modern twist on Shakespeare's earlier depiction of “Romeo and Juliet,” has an interesting way to depict Romeo. Shakespeare intended for Romeo to be an impulsive, lustful, and an unlucky guy whose choices end up in a downward spiral and this is exactly how the 1996 movie version of “Romeo and Juliet”, was portrayed.
While its one thing to read a play, the story of Romeo and Juliety is brought alive when we see it put into action on the big screen. For example, in act one and two, Romeo is introduced to us and we start to see his impulsive motives. One of the first ways this is seen is at the party. Romeo wears a suit

Just before Tybalt kills Mercutio, storm clouds start to cover the sky. Simultaneously, as Romeo starts to chase Tybalt, it becomes dark, hinting to us that something bad is most likely going to happen. This creates a dramatic effect to anything that occurs, heightening the emotions of all involved. The director also uses the speed of Romeo’s car and his tousled hair to show his craziness. He is screaming and crying while he is driving (not something a sane person would do) and then he crashes into Tybalt. He challenges him to the death saying “Either thou or I, or both, must go with him!”(Act 3, scene 1, 128) This is an act of retribution for Mercutio. Romeo does not really want to die, and the punishment if he kills Tybalt would separate him from his wife. Both options aren’t great, but Romeo takes no time to think of these and proceeds to shoot Tybalt. He then stumbles up some steps and looks at the Christ the Redeemer statue. Immediately it starts to rain and Romeo is hit with grief and the realization of what he did. These steps along with the fact that the statue is way bigger than Romeo, seem to show us that Romeo will never be able to attain a pure, holy life. Again the rain(water) seems to put Romeo in his own little world that he has to be shaken out of and told to run for his

The first of these being that he rushes back to Verona. He then illegally buys poison. Next, he races to the cathedral where Juliet is. In all this haste, he ran over a letter from the Friar telling him his plan. If Romeo had slowed down just a little, he would have seen this letter and avoided so much trouble. However, in typical Romeo fashion, he has forgotten everything in his love-drunk haste, and risked everything for Juliet. When he arrives at the cathedral he shoots at the police (another crime) and locks himslef into the cathedral. The 96’ version, creates an interesting interpretation of this scene, emphasizing the importance of patience. We see this as Romeo enters the chamber, and we see all the graves of Juliet’s family. There are crosses above each grave surrounded by blue LEDs, reminding us that this is a holy place. He then looks up and gives us a view of Juliet on a pedestal. She is elevated above him and is surrounded by angels. It’s as if he will never be able to reach her, which is ironic because he almost does. Throughout the play Juliet is elevated above him, whether it be by angels or by being physically above him, it seems as if Romeo is being portrayed by not having holy intentions and not being pure enough to be with Juliet. He climbs up the stairs and says his goodbyes, not realizing the little movements of Juliet that the viewer can see. Romeo, as usual, hastefully downs