Final Exam: Shakespeare and Film - Romeo and Juliet Analysis

This assignment is a student's analysis of the Tybalt-Mercutio duel scene from Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The essay delves into how the director's interpretation of the play is conveyed through specific elements within the scene. The student examines the modern setting, the use of camera angles, and the portrayal of characters like Mercutio and Tybalt, highlighting the contrast between the original play and the film's contemporary setting. The analysis explores themes of friendship, aggression, and the clash between different communities, as well as the film's overall interpretation of the classic love story. The student also reflects on the film's success in visualizing the play's essence and the impact of character portrayals on the audience's perception of the story, specifically the characters of Tybalt and Mercutio, comparing them to the original Shakespearean characters.

Running head: SHAKESPEARE AND FILM – ANALYZING ROMEO AND JULIET
SHAKESPEARE AND FILM – ANALYZING ROMEO AND JULIET
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1
SHAKESPEARE AND FILM – ANALYZING ROMEO AND JULIET
Buz Luhrmann directed the 1996 movie Romeo and Juliet starring Leonardo Dicaprio
and Claire Danes. It was another adaption of Shakespeare one of the most popular plays. The
movie did not attempt to portray any different era and stayed with the contemporary 1990s time.
The tone and pitching of the dialogues too were in all way, modern.
The scene in discussion here is the one where Mercutio and Tybalt are in a duel. The
original play although created some hundreds of yearsr ago, had the touch of modernity. The
fights were intense although the language or the dialogues used were classier. However,
Luhrmann manages to make the fight scene as intense. Mercutio and Tybalt engage in a duel
when Tybalt instigates Mercutio that he is subordinate to Romeo. Luhrmann depicts the
character of Mercutio through an African-American, which further intensifies the scene as he lets
the subtle struggle between black and white communities come to play. Mercution played by
Harold Perrineau displays the passion of friendship through intense eyes. The setting is entirely
modern with sophisticated guns and other weapons possessed by the characters. The use of
camera angles shows that the director wanted the audience to see the intensity of the characters.
Most of the camera shots were either medium close up or close up shots. The shaking of the
camera also assist ion giving a rush feel to the audience.
The demeanor of all the men in the scene shows the exuberance of youth and the contrast
between the protagonist’s peace loving attitude and his friend’s aggression. Romeo tries hard to
calm the situation and stop the fight but fails. Instead, he is accused by his friend Mercutio that it
is because of him that he was hurt by Tybalt. Tybalt on the other hand was shown as the
stereotypical villain of the 90s.

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SHAKESPEARE AND FILM – ANALYZING ROMEO AND JULIET
It would have been hard for the Shakespearean audience or even for Shakespeare to
imagine his characters bare chested , ready to take on each other. Tybalt’s laugh at Mercutio’s
outburst further makes his character intensely negative. However, it can be added that Tybalt’s
character is far from negative compared to other Shakespearean antagonists, Iago being the at the
top. Further, it needs to be mentioned that Luhrmann’s Tybalt and Mercutio represent the 90’s
youth of America whereas Shakespeare’s Tybalt and Mercution or even other characters
belonged to the Jacobean era in England. Therefore, it is interesting to see the characters play
their roles in a different setting. the accent with which the dialogues have been delivered by the
characters further shows the interesting merger of early modern English era and the modern
American period.
It thus can be concluded that the modern day adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic, Romeo
and Juliet, set amongst the half-shattered structures and the beaches present the viewers with
extremely good visualization. Nonetheless, speaking about the overall setting and especially the
love story, which is the main theme of the play, lacked the passion that readers felt after reading
the play. Apart from that Buz, Luhrmann managed to provide Mercution with enough space to
display the significance of his character.