Ah, Shakespeare…I guess when Hollywood cannot come up with new ideas, it’s always seguro to resort to something tried and true and there’s no better example of that than good ol’ William. Wasn’t there a movie version of Romeo and Juliet made not that long ago? Oh wait, now I am dating myself. The Baz Luhrman adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes was actually released in 1996. Unlike Luhrman’s very stylized música video-like modern día take on the play, Italian director Carlo Carlei’s version, released today, reminded me más of the 1968 Franco Zeffirelli film, and represented an effort to portray the story in the original setting of 16th century Verona, Italy. I think that this version would prove most appealing for the discerning teen and tween audience.

However, I am pretty sure Verona did not really look like this during the Renaissance. But that was what I enjoyed most about this movie – how beautiful it was. The exterior shots with the buildings and landscapes were so lovely and no surprise because it was actually filmed in Italy, including in Verona. The costumes are colorful and ornate and let’s not forget the comely leads. I was a huge fan of True Grit and Hailee Steinfeld in that movie but I imagine the Academy Award-nominated actress must have enjoyed the opportunity to take on quite a different character and get all girly for the role of Juliet. However, I believe the basically unknown Douglas Booth as our dear Romeo probably surpassed all others in the pretty department as he looked like the long lost best-looking member of boy band One Direction.

To remind tu of the plot: Romeo (Booth) attends, uninvited, a enmascarados party at rival family Capulet’s manor and there he meets Juliet (Steinfeld). The two instantly fall in amor and after hurried kisses plus a stealthy nighttime visit, decide to marry in secret the siguiente day, despite the fact that their families have feuded for generations and shed much of one another’s blood. tu know the rest.

Romeo and Juliet boasts some other rather notable cast members including a sweet and funny Paul Giamatti as Friar Lawrence, an under used pompous looking Stellan Skarsgård as the Prince of Verona, and Damian Lewis of Homeland fame sporting a bad haircut and over actuación as Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet. Gossip Girl fans will be pleased to see Ed Westwick on the big screen as Juliet’s firebrand of a cousin, Tybalt.

All the above sets the mood well for the audience to lose themselves in the classic romantic tragic tale. But for today’s audience, it’s just too ridiculous to imagine two people falling in amor after meeting for two minutos and the siguiente día deciding to run off and get married. Especially at the age of thirteen (good thing Steinfeld and Booth aren’t actually that young). In fact, some of the audience laughed out of incredulity during the famous Juliet balcony scene.

Notwithstanding suspension of disbelief, the actuación was quite solid. Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey!) adapted the play for the screen and Steinfeld and Booth come across as very likeable protagonists that I wanted to root for (despite knowing very well they are absolutely doomed). The actors delivered the Shakespearean dialogue with the appropriate amount of humor and emotion, in a way that made it very accessible and unstilted. Of course this could also be due to the fact that Fellowes made quite a few controversial alterations and additions to the dialogue of the original play, though still closely following the plot. I certainly don’t remember the play verbatim so I guess his changes worked for me and were not obvious enough in their incongruity. Unfortunately, the actuación (not to mention Steinfeld’s eyebrows and Booth’s heavy makeup job) was interrupted por the distracting editing – something else that induced giggles from the audience. A scene of romantic bliss would be juxtaposed with one of ominous violence and a fuming Tybalt wielding a mace.

Recommendation: don’t watch this movie as a substitute for lectura the play. Rather, go after tu read it and then lose yourself in the Italian countryside for a few hours.