A Romeo and Juliet for the attention-deficit crowd
Fellowes offers condensed, pretty version
Superhero avenger Joss Whedon conjured an enchanting modern Much Ado in black and white and now Julian Fellowes, creator of the posh, prime time, period hit Downton Abbey, has his star-crossed lovers. The populists must have their Bard!
In this version of Romeo and Juliet, Fellowes offers a traditional but accessible Romeo and Juliet for a new generation.
Directed by Carlo Carlei, this is high romance — from the rustling lace of Juliet’s (Hailee Steinfeld) skirts, to the camera’s lingering caress of Romeo’s face (Douglas Booth has cut-glass cheekbones).
The setting returns to the early Renaissance of the original story, with most scenes shot on location in fair Verona and Mantua.
Fellowes’s earnest script doesn’t stray too far from the original, but does simplify things by abbreviating speeches and shaving-down scenes. The effect is a condensed study-guide version for the impatient 21st-century, junior-high set.
Steinfeld is a little awkward with the demands imposed by Shakespearean drama but Damian Lewis (Homeland) seems patently uncomfortable with the language and in the overall role of Lord Capulet, though as Friar Lawrence, Paul Giamatti is a natural, as is Booth. Besides the fickle, balcony-scaling heartthrob, there’s also snarling Tybalt. Ed Westwick, best known for his role as Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl, is well-cast, possessing the coiled testosterone of a bruiser in search of a fight.
Costume designer Carlo Poggioli also seems to take a symbolic cue from the text — the period’s precious pigment, deep blue, is quilted and dip-dyed throughout when worn by Juliet. This sort of pop-symbolic detail, in combination with the spectacular use of location are saving graces in a movie whose goals are to water things down to manageable bites.