Review of the movie Romeo and Juliet. The ways of the Lord are inscrutable
The play "The Most Excellent and Saddest Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet" 1599, written by Shakespeare based on Luigi da Porto's `` The Newly Found Story of Two Noble Lovers and Their Sad Death in Verona during the Time of Senor Bartolomeo della Sculi '' 1524, were transferred to the screen several dozen times, starting in 1900. Everyone knows the history far and wide, except, perhaps, the pygmies of Africa, but moviemakers who take up the movie adaptation again and again, it seems that their vision is lacking in world cinema. I do not want to think that they are doing it for mercantile reasons — the play is so popular that the box office is guaranteed. The only person who truly breathed new life into Shakespeare's story, was Franco Zeffirelli, who in 1968 allowed young Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, for the first time in the history of movie adaptations as young as their characters, to be themselves and without hindrances and prohibitions to love each other on screen. And the whole movie is full of picturesque splendor, light sadness, lively humor, the magical music of Nino Rota, passion and inspiration, and, in general, the same splash of the Renaissance as Shakespeare's prose. 45 years have passed since then. Italian Carlo Carley also decided on a classic costume adaptation. The adaptation of the 'literal' - the movie was movieed in the castles of Verona and Mantua, where the Montague and Capulet families were at enmity with Shakespeare and the disgraced Romeo was hiding. True, this is where the letter ends, because the text of the play is pretty much emasculated. Rich design, ceremonial and pompous costumes, the museum splendor with marble floors, colonnades, open terraces and grand staircases is overwhelming, although the actors try to match. The team on the project was stellar. Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, cinematographer David Tattersall, who did Star Wars with Lucas, multiple Golden Globe-nominated composer Abel Czenevski, BAFTA-winning editor Peter Honess and equally popular and distinguished actors — Paul Giamatti, Stellan Skarsgard, Damian Lewis, Natasha McElhone, Leslie Menville. Even 16-year-old Hayley Steinfeld, aka Juliet, has already been nominated for an Oscar for Iron Grip. The project seems to have been put together for stardom, like DC Comics did Man of Steel. What happened in the end? I suggest looking at the play from a slightly different angle, not as a sad love story, but as an illustration of the Christian wisdom `` The ways of the Lord are inscrutable. '' Indeed, this is such a series of non-random accidents that wind up on each other like a snowball. At almost any moment, the heroes can take a step to the side or just stop, patiently wait out the turmoil and get to a happy ending. But at first glance, little things and Italian temperament always get in the way. The amorous Romeo Montague would never have seen Juliet Capulet if he had not tricked into the ball at her parents' house for the sake of his passionate passion for Rosaline. He would never kill her cousin Tybalt, if the hot youth of the Montague house hadn't accidentally bumped into Tybalt and his retinue on the street. Romeo would have known that Juliet's death was imaginary if he had received news from Lorenzo's father in time, but the messenger delayed helping the child. Etc. This is a plot for an excellent dynamic thriller with a vigorous pulse. But the movie lacks dynamics, passion and life, although there are sword fights, verbal skirmishes, a masquerade ball with its intrigues, horse dressage, a lot of running along beautiful stairs and cobbled streets. Romeo and Juliet, Hayley Steinfeld and Douglas Booth, are picturesquely beautiful and fresh, cry with tears the size of a pea, but their thoughts are at a distance from history and from each other and do not evoke sympathy, perhaps they do not seek. As always good Paul Giamatti — Holy Father Lorenzo, the most healthy and humane character in history, despite his dignity, is not a hypocrite or a moralizer; Giamatti does not know how to play badly and is completely immersed in the character, whoever he may be. Very touching Romeo's confidant young Benvolio (Cody Smith-McPhee, teenager from The Road and Let Me In), has matured and is gaining acting experience. Mercutio (Christian Cook) and Tybalt (Ed Westwick) are infected with ardent militancy. Damian Lewis, who is also Juliet's father, played in many Shakespearean productions, but his live Nicholas Brody from the series `` A stranger among his own '' for me the pale image of Senor Capulet was obscured all the time. The performer of the role of Juliet's mother, 43-year-old Natasha McElhone, in order to fully match the letter of the play, to which the director aspired so much, would have to look 15 — Juliet is not yet 14 years old, and Senora Capulet at this age was already her mother. Leslie Manville is also not too much like Juliet's Nurse, who in Shakespeare is younger, stronger in build and infects with a cheerful wit, this moment somehow faded on the way from play to screen. Minor miscalculations can also be attributed to the fact that the play takes place in the summer, and the movie was shot in cold February-March, when the temperature on the night streets of Verona is slightly above zero, and the characters' replicas accompanied by a cloud of vapor from the mouth of the speaking actor. And the translation of the play chosen for dubbing is not the best one. In general, a movie from the category " everything worked out professionally and soundly, but leaves you indifferent. ” The painting may delight those who watch Romeo and Juliet on the big screen for the first time, a more sophisticated audience will rather be dissatisfied. The Topic of Article: Review of the movie Romeo and Juliet. The ways of the Lord are inscrutable. |
