Carlo Carlei and his Questionable Cinematic Choices

     I’m mad at my sister. My family owns a copy of West Side Story, but apparently she scratched it the last time she felt like doing the can-can and singing in a fake Puerto Rican accent, so that Romeo and Juliet adaptation was out the window. Next I thought I might finish Romeo + Juliet, but it’s not on Netflix anymore, so then I began getting nervous. I can’t pirate movies anymore because my computer’s health has been tested far too many times already, and youtube versions are always low quality and require at times, extensive Googling to fill out the plots. So that left me with the 2013 adaptation directed by Carlo Carlei. From the short excerpt I had seen in class, I didn’t have very high expectations for this adaptation. In fact, they were very low, so low that I expected to laugh through almost the entire movie, but I must admit, even if the movie was every romance cliche rolled into one, the storyline was still mostly intact and I enjoyed most of the actors' performances. To follow is my commentary on Romeo and Juliet. It's been shortened due to my excessive ranting. 

     This adaptation stays true to the play's setting and time period. Our scene opens during a jousting tournament in Verona in the senenteenth century.I like how the director made it clear from the beginning that these two households were divided. They hadn't introduced either of the families, but we knew right away from the different colors of their customing and the appalled  looks on the faces of those on the losing side of the tournament that these two peoples disliked , if not hated, each other greatly. I appreciate the added cut to the Nurse and Juliet. It developed their relationship before their characters are connected with the rest of the story. Tybalt has more screen time in this movie than he does in the play. It is made clear right away that he's an antagonistic jerk. He's clearly older than Benvolio, who is portrayed to be much younger than I had pictured him, but he challenges him in the street. We get a taste of how he's out for blood right away. The director cut Benvolio's conversation  with Romeo's parents. Instead, Bemvolio goes right to Romeo's art studio directly after the fight. Romeo is a tortured artist which I love because of how cliche it is. The actor chosen to play Romeo looks almost fake, which is weird, but he also looks older than fifteen. Benvolio makes Romeo look grown up and like he can make his own decisions, which isn't true. Benvolio expresses outrage at the fact that Rosaline is a Capulet, which makes me happy because the play just kind of skipped over that. The speech is a little off. It was dumbed down and moved around. I don't like how it pretends it's going for authenticity, but doesn't follow through with the Shakespearean language. I feel like it cheapens the story. 

     Capulet's negotiation with Paris makes him appear to care more for his daughter's well being than he actually does, but this could be because the director wanted to highlight a change in him later in the play. Paris is creepy as always, which is lovely. Romeo seems more self assured and less of an awkward lovesick teenager, which I feel changes how I see the scene. I love the Nurse in this though. She isn't ready for Juliet to get married because she doesn't think she's old enough, which is refreshing. Lady Capulet seems on task as always. I was most disappointed with how this adaptation changed the portrayal of Mercutio. He was less flamboyant, and Romeo seemed less depressed. Romeo is more into the party than Mercutio, which doesn't make sense. Romeo is less lonely and less depressed, which makes Romeo and Juliet's love at first sight even less believable and appear even more superficially motivated. I don't know why Rosaline was even in this. It wasn't necessary for her to be in the movie, and Benvolio's side comment about going after Rosaline just didn't fit. When Capulet hears that Romeo's at his party, he sees him with Juliet and he does nothing.  That just doesn't stay true to the story. The characters' personalities, I felt, were changed too much and, at times, even contradicted the play's original intentions for them.  

     Tybalt is portrayed as super villainy(is that a word?). I don't know why they made him such a big character. His confrontation with Juliet seemed uncalled for and unnecessary. The balcony scene was trying way too hard to be serious. It makes me want to laugh. A redeeming quality of the movie is the background; the Capulet's castle was really beautiful.  I love how the elegant architecture coupled with Romeo's dramatic cape removal. Cliches really make a story. Please tell me you know I'm kidding. The scene was super cheesy, but sort of lovely.
     I love how the Friar resembles an evil scientist. But again in that Friar scene, Romeo portrays a lot of self confidence and less young love sickness, and Mercutio continues to be too serious. He doesn't use any fancy language or clever comparisons. The music in the background of the wedding scene was kind of tacky and I don't understand why they suddenly changed the language. It's unnecessary and I think it's an overused gimmick. This adaptation was full of overused gimmicks. The cloud of dust that's kicked up with Tybalt's arrival is reminiscent of an old Western. They also raise the music level during the fight scene and lower everything beside the cling of the swords. These are overused cliches that are usually used as comic relief, but this movie presents them like they're not a joke. Tybalt's face as he is dying is kind of hilarious, but the director wasn't aiming for that. The scenes are filled with overused cinematic effects, but the Friar puts on a good performance. I loved when the Friar slapped Romeo. It was something that I think all of the movie's viewers were wanting to do. Yet another cliche is when artistic masterpieces are shown while Romeo and Juliet were having sex. I mean, come on. This movie has every single cinematic cliche ever. A scene even ends with Romeo and Juliet looking out into the distance, cheek to cheek. Why Carlo, why?!

     The director didn't add anything original to the story. When Juliet writes a letter and her disembodied voice fills the room, I wanted to bang my head against the wall. The devices they used were predictable. There was no need for a remake. Yet my heart still breaks a little bit at the story. There were some good individual performance. I loved the Nurse and her palpable care for Juliet and the Friar's harsh reality checks. Capulet's outrage at his daughter was well done. The story is cliche, so so is the movie. I don't see why they thought they needed another remake if they weren't going to present the story differently, but it's too late now. It's been made, and reaches every expectation of cheesy chick flick that I could think of. This adaptation was super dramatic and cliche but sort of beautiful all the same.