Romeo & Juliet

"Romeo + Juliet" is Baz Luhrmann's bold and thoroughgoing attempt to update William Shakespeare's old tragedy. The dialogue is the original, but the action has been transposed to a modern, multi-ethnic American city. In Verona Beach the rival families, Montague and Capulet, fight for power. The Prince, who is to mediate between the two parties, has become the chief of police.

The film is not an attempt at a realistic update, but then how could it be if the original dialogue is retained? "Romeo + Juliet" is a colourful, stylised and fast-paced orgy of image and sound. Little time is left to digest the dialogue, which, after all, demands its due.

Luhrmann is not afraid to go to extremes, which can be refreshing enough, but in certain cases his choices seem too unmotivated and noisy. For example, Romeo's friend Mercutio has become a black drag queen who, in my opinion, sings a bit too much at the Capulets' party.

The plot is well known, so I won't recount it. Unfortunately, the fact that the ending is known in advance removes some of the suspense. The film is impressive, but a little too flashy and conscious of its own style to also worry very much about whether the story can actually grip and move the audience.