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Pine, Isabell Andrea M.

2JRN3 I The Great Works I Movie Review


Dec. 11, 2019
Romeo and Juliet: A tragedy of young love

A midst the hate and violence between the Capulets and Montague, blooms an unexpected but
passionate love between the children of the two opposing parties. This classic embodied the
forbidden love trope that has transcended to today’s generation as it shows the viewers of how
powerful the nature of love can be, as it can lead two people straight to their deaths yet end a
cycle of hate and violence.

Directed by Franco Zeffirelli and released in year 1968, Romeo and Juliet begin with the
narrator giving the viewers an overview of the fate in store for the two lovers. A fight between
the two opposing families introduced the main conflict of the story, which is the estranged
relationship between the Capulets and Montagues. This plays a big part of the film as it is the
primary thing that hinders the two lovers from openly expressing their love. As the clash of the
two families grew more awry due to the death of one their kin by the opposing clan, for Tybalt
of the Capulet died in the hands of Romeo due to the former killing Mercutio of the Montague,
forces Romeo into banishment and be separated from Juliet. In his absence, Juliet is ordered by
her father to marry another man in the name of Paris. Distraught, she seeks help from Friar
Lawrence who proposed the plan of faking her death to escape the marriage with the promise
of informing Romeo so that the two lovers may be together at last. The plan proceeded, and as
the narrator has informed the viewers, tragedy was inescapable, and Romeo did not receive the
letter and was informed of Juliet’s death. This moment of poor timing ultimately leads to the
death of the young couple by double suicide.

The film tackled a lot of different themes but the most prominent is love, violence, and youth.
In the context of the Renaissance era, the love that Shakespeare portrayed is erotic love as
exhibited in how much the two young lovers engaged in fervent passionate love without even
knowing each other completely. This theme of love has also been questioned by Friar Lawrence
as before Romeo’s encounter with Juliet, he was completely smitten with the girl named
Rosaline. In addition, this theme is Shakespeare’s attempt to diverge away from the
Renaissance typical type of romance in which the male remains in an unrequited by the object
of his affection as two of his characters express mutual pining to one another as well as equal
desperation for physical intimacy.

Likewise, the theme of violence is best exemplified by the males in the film as throughout the
story, they males of both families are always in clash with one another or are engaged in acts of
violence. This is due to the perception of masculinity at that time which ultimately lead to the
tragedy of the couple as Romeo gave in to this masculine violence and killed Tybalt which to his
banishment and separation from Juliet.

The theme of youth is best represented by the two lovers as their immaturity is further
emphasized by them by the way they deal the problems they faced in the film. Scenes such as
when Romeo attempted to kill himself after the proclamation of the prince of his banishment
and Juliet’s decision to fake her death in order to escape a marriage with Paris are the best
examples of their immaturity as these actions were only corrected and alleviated whenever an
adult figure was present. This shows the gap between the generations of the adults to the
youth in the story.

Despite the story being presented as a tragedy since the narrator in the prologue tells the
viewers the inevitable death of the star-crossed lovers, the tone of the film remained romantic
and light-hearted. This may be due to the instrumentals being played whenever Romeo and
Juliet are in a scene together, the perfect comedic combo of both Juliet’s nurse and Mercutio,
or the delivery of lines by the actors that did not illicit sadness to the viewers. Thus, one may be
swooned by the passionate displays of affection of the two lovers, but not shed a tear for the
two’s tragic death. The tone of the narrator on the other hand is rather sympathetic as he tells
their tale with a sense of understanding and sensitivity which helps garner sympathy from the
audience as well.

Aligned with the themes, the imagery that the film represents is the time during the
Renaissance and this is exhibited by the strong patriarchal culture, the religious influences, and
how honor is a big deal between the two families. This patriarchal culture is best shown
through how the head of the Capulet and his wife has control of who and when Juliet is going to
marry despite her being in love with another man and being only 13 years old. The religious
themes were represented through the Christian practices exhibited in the film such the
marriage between Romeo and Juliet. Meanwhile the case of honor is exemplified through the
scenes of when Mercutio battle Tybalt in Romeo’s stead when Tybalt insulted Romeo’s honor
and when Romeo sought revenge against Tybalt from the death of his friend Mercutio.

The music in one of the highlights of the film as it sets the mood perfectly whenever the two
lovers are having a moment together. Likewise, the costumes and setting are exemplary as it is
not only engaging to the eyes, but also brings out the renaissance era to life. However, the
cinematography of the film was not particularly noteworthy and is still of need of improvement.

There were scenes that had abrupt transitions which may confuse viewers if they do not have a
background of the source material of the film. An example of this is the sudden transition of
Romeo and Juliet’s secret wedding to the banter of Tybalt and Mercutio which led to a sword
fight that was initially meant to be with Romeo. Another is the sudden transition of when
Romeo was grieving because of his banishment while Friar Lawrence was comforting him and
telling him to be with Juliet in his final hours in Verona to the sudden bed scene with Romeo
and Juliet.

In this light, the subject and romance of Romeo and Juliet had not aged well in this present time
for the love between the two was too sudden and had no development. One may even
question of whether the two really loved each other in the first place or whether it was just lust
that drove them to one another.

Nonetheless, the development of the story and the ending was thought-provoking and share an
important lesson. The consequence of deep-rooted hate and violence can only lead to tragedy
and it is only when one makes amends did, they get to have a better understanding of one
another. This is represented in how the death of the two star-crossed lovers had ended the
feud between their families and that because of their shared tragedy were they able to come
together.
Overall, the film was charming and despite the use of Elizabethan English, it was easy to digest
and understand by any viewers. The story could have been more in depth though had it focused
on why the Capulets and Montagues despised each other in the first place. That being said, it
still gives a deep impression to the audience as it leaves them a sense of frustration as it
presents a way for the tragedy to be easily avoided and not taking it.

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