It’s often said that each generation gets the Shakespeare adaptation that fits it best. Although Timothy Scott Bogart’s film is more inspired by the Bard’s Romeo and Juliet than a full adaptation, it nevertheless man manages to attract some big names to small roles.
Bard-watchers will be delighted to see Derek Jacobi in the role of the Friar, adding a rather camp and knowing style to his scenes, while Rupert Graves is very good as the Prince, and the likes of Jason Isaacs and Rebel Wilson turn up in the secondary roles of the parents.
Jamie Ward, an Australian actor, flexes his musical chops as Romeo, as this is ultimately a musical in the Disney original tradition, bursting with modern pop picks co-created by E. Kidd Bogart. Danish actress Clara Rugaard is Juliet, and she pouts through her dialogue and sings winsome ballads.
These are the Gen Z and Gen Alpha version of the ‘star-crossed lovers’, and in keeping with the big blockbuster stage musical & Juliet, the story may not end as you expect. It’s big, and bold, and colourful, and while it doesn’t reach (or try to reach) the depths of the play as originally written, it takes the characters and plays with them much in the way Warm Bodies made them vampires.
This is a light story, which relies on modern dialogue and some expansion of the peripheral characters (Juliet’s mother hints at a backstory; the Prince visits the Friar for confession), but Shakespeare purists may find it of interest just to see how the canonic works can be mined for inspiration and made palatable to the younger audience.
Juliet & Romeo is showing in UK cinemas for one night only on 11 Jun – for more details visit https://www.iconfilmchannel.uk/.