Comparing Luhrman's Use Of Oxymorons In Romeo And Juliet

In the 1997 version of Romeo and Juliet, Luhrman used the many oxymorons, and ironic symbols to show his interpretation of the tragic death scene. One very important occurrence that kept happening in his movie was the uncertainty of the ending and close-calls. An example being when Romeo receives news that Juliet is dead in Mantua, he immediately gets in his car and drives off. If he had waited just a few more minutes, and thought rationally, the mailman would have delivered to him the letter from Friar Lawrence explaining everything. There are many other examples of this like when Romeo is about to take the poison, Juliet wakes up to watch him do it. When if he had waited five seconds, or she had been faster in telling him she's okay, they would've lived happily!
Even though we, as the audience know that the main characters don't survive, the way he stages these close-calls makes the viewer uncertain as to what the ending will really be. This technique also helps to showcase the tragic flaw that makes up the tragical Romeo. In the actual death scene itself, Luhrman did an excellent job of showing the passion, misfortune, and sorrow of the film. There is some debate on the change that Luhrman made concerning if he did Shakespeare's original play justice. The fact that Friar Lawrence didn't even appear is a crucial factor that was not included in his adaptation. Luhrman did this to illustrate the romance of such a dramatic scene in the final act of the movie, without the interruption of Friar Lawrence to destroy the sad beauty of it . At the end of the day Luhrman's interpretation of the play was a extraordinary, contemporary, and beautifully