Day 25 - What is a film no one would expect you to love?
Answer: Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Yeah. I have an unironic love for the 1996 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. That might seem like an odd choice at first. It's a love story. The film stars heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague and Claire Danes as Juliet Capulet. The thing is that I actually really enjoy the works of William Shakespeare and his play Romeo and Juliet is one of my favorite works of his next to Richard the 3rd. What makes this version of the story different from any other?
The only difference about Romeo + Juliet is that they take the story and place it in the modern day. It's kind of an interesting watch. They keep the original William Shakespeare script. Everyone speaks in the same dialogue written in the original story, but we're watching everything happening in a version of Verona that looks something like Miami, Florida or Los Angeles, California. The swords have been switched out for guns with the names of swords. It makes things kind of more interesting.
The feel of the film makes it seem like Romeo + Juliet is a love story that takes place during a gang war. The Capulets look more like what you might expect gangsters to look like. John Leguizamo's portrayal of Tybalt Capulet is one of my favorite things ever. I'm also a big fan of Harold Perrineau as Mercutio. Jamie Kennedy makes an appearance here as a pink haired Sampson Montegue. I'd recommend giving it a look if you like Romeo and Juliet and enjoy seeing modernized versions of old stories. It's a fun film.
