Multiple film versions have been made of the play Romeo and Juliet. Most of these versions have been suitable adaptations of the play. One that specifically stands out is the 1996 version of the film. Unlike other versions the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet is not a sutiable adaptation of the play because of the flaws in setting and tone which didnt relate enough to the play.
There are many reasons people like this version of the play and one is the actors. The actors chosen for the roles of the characters represented the characters very well. For example the actor who played Romeo looked the correct age and he pulled the depressed teenager look off which is difficult for most adult actors. Also the actor who played Tybalt was another great choice for the character because the actor is very enthusiastic and dramatic when he talks and is doing something which is the feeling given off about Tybalt when reading the play.
Despite the positive aspects of the film there were more down sides one of which was the setting didn’t match the language. The main problem is they didn’t paraphrase at all. If they had been any closer to the original style of speech they would have been reciting the play word for word and this made it hard to understand at parts. For example during the fights they would call
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the guns swords, something like that would not have changed the film at all if they had paraphrased but they chose not to and this was very irritating.
The last thing that stood out was the tone. The tone which was very sketchy at certain parts for example Juliet was way too whinny. Even though she is supposed to be really sad and and emotional she went a little overboard with it in the film, if she had toned it down a little bit it would not have been a problem. Another part where the tone was all over the place was during Mercutio’s death scene during this scene the tone was all over the place. It was sad, happy, and angry and wouldn’t stay on one or the other. It was like the film couldn’t make up it’s mind.
This version of the film has great potential to be a good adaptation of the original play but there are just too many flaws separating it from what made the original play so great and a legend in literature and plays. So in conclusion even though the film had some good aspects such as characterization they were outweighed by setting, language, and tone.
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