Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is compressed into a plot of five days, during which time, a range of dramatic events occur that end in tragedy. Through this short span of time, the reader is able to see a significant change in the characters as the plot unfolds, especially in the heroine, Juliet. Even more so than the play on paper, the play on film has an extremely short time period to effectively develop characters and properly present events as they occur. Two film versions of the play, BBC and Franco Zefferelli, use differing ways to present the play, one in a theatrical small scale manner and one on a movie production scale, respectfully. Both versions show a Juliet who grows and changes but Zefferelli shows the change much more naturally and realistically. Zefferelli uses a young actress who greatly exaggerates the mannerisms of a young girl whose sweetness and vulnerability touch the audience and moves them with her strength and tragic end. One of Shakespeare's most confident and rounded female characters, Juliet goes from being an obedient and naive child into an independent and wise woman. Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet illustrates this transformation more boldly and brings the audience much closer to the character of Juliet, than the BBC, by more vividly and dramatically portraying the transformation of a child to a woman through the actress herself and her relationships with those around her. The most striking feature of the Zefferelli production of Romeo and Juliet is the choice and portrayal of the actress, Olivia Hussey, whose young age accurately portrays Shakespeare's adolescent Juliet. This detail is vital in that at first glance, the audience immediately internalizes the character's innocence and youth. The actress in the BBC, while young, is not as young as Hussey and has a more mature look and attitude about her that is first seen when Juliet reacts to the proposal of marriage. The Zefferelli shows a girl who obediently accepts the notion with