Oh hey remember the modern Hamlet with Ethan Hawke? Sam Shepard playing his ghost dad. The two are wrapped up for me because I remember loving Mel and enjoying the take on it but knowing it was flawed and then Kenneth being all British and having to one up Mel and doing that really sumptuous shit with all the production and pomp. Or the one 2 punch of Mel Gibson’s Hamlet and Kenneth B’s Hamlet. My favourite would be either Henry V by Kenneth B. My favourite telling of R&J in film for sure. I think the fact that it has no name brands and they made all the cars for it elevates it to an A in my book. They’d definitely liked Strickly Ballroom more and thought this was a step down in quality but up in cinematic and world building. I remember critics being about a B rating on it when it dropped. StoryLine : Shakespeares famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue. It truly comes together in the final sequence in the Church for me on the initial watch. You don't see Paris weeping and crying out for Juliet, you don't dislike Romeo for killing him, and Romeo dies with the horrible knowledge that Juliet was still alive and if he'd only been more patient, he'd have been able to be with her (which is closely linked with one of the core themes of the play). I'd even wager that Baz's ending makes the story stronger. Even though I do my best to work through the Elizabethan English with them by reading aloud in class, breaking down the iambic pentameter, giving guided notes, and dealing with the puns/entendres/etc., inevitably this version helps kids get it. When I teach AP students who had me previously, they almost always bring it up. It's also absurd and hilarious at parts, which helps them remember it. It's modern enough and over-the-top enough for them to grasp things that they may have missed.
I think the film wanted to keep a ton of the original dialogue while making it entirely understandable for kids/teens who hadn't read or hadn't understood (whether due to their own issues or the teacher's) Romeo and Juliet.Īs a high school English teacher who specifically teaches Romeo and Juliet to 9th graders, this is the version I show them. I think everyone gets this one wrong because they think the movie is made for them, or even for adults.
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