Cross-Fertilization in Film: An Analysis of Romeo + Juliet Adaptation

This essay provides an analysis of Baz Luhrmann's film adaptation of Romeo + Juliet through the lens of cross-fertilization, examining how elements from theatre, film, visual arts, and music intersect to enhance the narrative. It delves into the plot, character development, montage, mise-en-scene, and sound effects to demonstrate how Luhrmann modernizes the classic play while maintaining its core dramatic and romantic intensity. The essay also compares a specific scene – the death of Romeo and Juliet – to the original text, highlighting the differences in the adaptation's portrayal of fate versus human fault. Ultimately, the analysis illustrates how cross-disciplinary techniques are used to enrich the thought, plot, and character aspects of the film, offering a comprehensive understanding of Luhrmann's creative choices.

Running head: ANALYZING ROMEO+JULIET IN TERMS OF CROSS-FERTILIZATION
ANALYZING ROMEO+JULIET IN TERMS OF CROSS-FERTILIZATION
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ANALYZING ROMEO+JULIET IN TERMS OF CROSS-FERTILIZATION
Romeo + Juliet is a 1996 film with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes playing the
respective characters of Romeo and Juliet (Imdb.com, 2018). Other prominent characters in the
film are Mercutio (played by Harold Perrineau) and Tybalt (played by John Leguizamo).
The film’s plot revolves around the start-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet who fall in love
despite knowing that their families have a history of feuds. Their love story is faced with
problems from all corners, feuding families – the Capulet against the Montague, fighting friends
and other problems.
The montage effects used by Luhrmann in the film assist him to depict clearly the classic
play in a modern way, which is evident from the montage used in the opening scene. The
opening scene shows a news broadcaster reporting about the suicide of two lovers and then it
cuts to the city of Verona showing in the statue of Jesus in close shot and zooming out to reveal
the two opposite buildings with Capulet and Montague sign. The montage immediately
introduces the audience to the theme of the story.
In terms of mise-en-scene, the clothing and posture of each character in all the scenes
demonstrate the distinction between the two feuding families and their allies. While the
Montagues characters adorned colorful, beach clothes, the Capulets were mostly seen in dark
clothes with red and black color combination.
The ruined structures in the beach, the clothing of the characters, the camera movements
– all add to a stylistic work of visual art in the film (Albanese, 2013). The viewers are left
spellbound from the very first instance of Romeo and Juliet’s meeting through a glass aquarium.
The music of the film also plays a significant part in enhancing the dramatic elements.
The opening of the movie just after the news presenter’s scene engages the viewer’s attention

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ANALYZING ROMEO+JULIET IN TERMS OF CROSS-FERTILIZATION
with not only the montage but also the soundtrack that clearly resonate the modern vibe. Other
sound effects like screeching of wheels, tapping of the metal-heeled shoes worn by Tybalt and
such other diegetic sounds enhance the film’s dramatic visual (Cinpoeş, 2016).
In terms of melodrama and romanticism, the film maintains the original play’s intensity.
While in terms of period, it clearly depicts the modern day nuances and emotions through the
characters.
One particular scene can be analyzed to compare it to the original text – the death of
Romeo and Juliet. In the original text, the death occurs in Act V, Scene III (Novy, 2015). The
scene in the original text shows Romeo killing Paris and then both the lovers committing suicide.
However, in Luhrmann’s adaptation, Romeo does not kill Paris. In addition, in the original text,
Juliet wakes up when Romeo has already died from poison while in the movie, Juliet wakes
while Romeo is still breathing.
Despite these differences, the movie manages to come very close to the original play
owing to the splendid performance by the lead actors. The adaptation deviates from the thought
of the original play as the original one emphasized the fault of fate while the adaptation
portrayed the faults in human as the main reason for the tragedy.

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References:
Albanese, D. (2013). The Shakespeare film and the Americanization of culture. In Marxist
Shakespeares (pp. 218-238). Routledge.
Cinpoeş, N. (2016). “By Looking Liking”: Baz Luhrmann’S William Shakespeare’S Romeo+
Juliet. Messages, Sages and Ages, 3(1), 7-16.
Imdb.com. (2018). Romeo + Juliet (1996). Retrieved from
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117509/
Novy, M. (2015). Violence, Love, and Gender in Romeo and Juliet. In Romeo and Juliet (pp.
359-369). Routledge.