i had never watched any performance of romeo and juliet before, and only knew the storys broad lines. safe to say: i think this performance makes an excellent introduction to the world of shakespeare and all his tragedy and madness.
a thing that stood out to me (i say as if it isnt one of the most obvious elements) is the colour grading: the whole play is filmed in black and white. while i appreciate them taking such a bold choice, im very ambiguous about how i feel about it. on one hand, it only adds to the shakespearian and overly dramatic narrative. id however wouldve also loved seeing the play in colour, for the black and white gave it a very dull, sombre, and at times even dreary look. but again: it also greatly contributes to the graveness that is so important to the play.
i also did not really understand why they made the decision to transform the character of mercutio into an old man. is it refreshing and new? yes. does it add anything to the storyline other than confusion? no. it just left me wondering why on earth romeo would be good friends with some random old man thats at least 40 years older than him.
i nonetheless really liked this performance, and will be watching and reading more shakespeare.
i had never watched any performance of romeo and juliet before, and only knew the storys broad lines. safe to say: i think this performance makes an excellent introduction to the world of shakespeare and all his tragedy and madness.
a thing that stood out to me (i say as if it isnt one of the most obvious elements) is the colour grading: the whole play is filmed in black and white. while i appreciate them taking such a bold choice, im very ambiguous about how i feel about it. on one hand, it only adds to the shakespearian and overly dramatic narrative. id however wouldve also loved seeing the play in colour, for the black and white gave it a very dull, sombre, and at times even dreary look. but again: it also greatly contributes to the graveness that is so important to the play.
i also did not really understand why they made the decision to transform the character of mercutio into an old man. is it refreshing and new? yes. does it add anything to the storyline other than confusion? no. it just left me wondering why on earth romeo would be good friends with some random old man thats at least 40 years older than him.
i nonetheless really liked this performance, and will be watching and reading more shakespeare.
