Romeo And Juliet: Forbidden Love

William Shakespeare wrote one of the most well-known dramas of all time, Romeo and Juliet, in 1597. Then, several film productions were made reenacting the famous star crossed lover’s story. In 1996, a contemporary film was made featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague and Claire Danes as Juliet Capulet. The director, Bazz Luhrmann, followed the basic storyline of Shakespeare’s original drama and still made the film relatable to the 1990’s decade. The classic film Romeo and Juliet remains revered by viewers even today due its timeless theme of forbidden love having a fatal end, iconic and memorable characters, and modern setting. The popular culture and events of the 1990’s, the decade in which Romeo and Juliet was produced and shown

Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes played the two major characters in the film as Romeo and Juliet. Their characterization of the characters show the overall theme of forbidden love in the film. Owen Gleiberman reviewed the classic film and commented on the lover’s scene when they first met. Gleiberman said “At the ball, there’s a nice moment when DiCaprio and Danes, staring at each other through an aquarium, seem to be gazing at a reflection…” (Gleiberman). Then, Gleiberman continues to discuss the acting of DiCaprio and Danes and how they portrayed the authentic emotions of love throughout the film. The duration of the film DiCaprio and Danes establish their characterization of love for one another as Romeo and Juliet. This is evident when DiCaprio’s character goes to see Juliet at the Capulets house regardless of Juliet’s parents despising him. At the Capulet’s house, DiCaprio and Danes emotionally confess their love for one another as the characters which leads to them establishing the forbidden love between Capulets and Montagues. The love the characters have deepens as they are both willing to leave their families, get married, and die if they cannot be together. At the end of the film, Romeo takes his life when he sees that

The film Romeo and Juliet was filmed around five various locations in Mexico and one location in California. Luhrmann intent on the film was to take a more modern approach on so, it could relate to a younger audience. He carried out just that by changing a few classic settings to more modernized ones. For example, Shakespeare originally wrote that in Act II Juliet would talk to Romeo from on top of her balcony. However, Luhrmann saw the opportunity to change this classic setting and he modernized it by filming this scene near Juliet’s pool instead. This change in setting was more relatable to the audience than balcony setting. Romeo and Juliet setting was in Verona Beach. This was intentional by Luhrmann because he integrated Shakespeare’s original setting of Verona, Italy from the play into a more modern beach setting. The setting of Verona Beach is presented “…as a modern city, dominated by scenes of chaotic urban violence” (cite). This urban city setting of Verona beach is more believable to the audience making the storyline feel more