Romeo and Juliet 
Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Douglas Booth, Ed Westwick, Christian Cooke, Damian Lewis, Laura Morante, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Stellan Skarsgård, Tom Wisdom, Paul Giamatti, Lesley Manville
Directed by: Carlo Carlei
Rated: PG-13
Run Time:118 mins
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Opens October 11th
By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com
It’s story so well known, replicated, redone and remade that when a new version comes out there is a bit of wonder in how the storyteller, or in this case, filmmaker will make the timeless Shakespeare classic fresh and new. Director Carlo Carlei takes on the arduous task, so how does he do?
Chances are unless you you slept through high school english or drama class, you already know the story of” Romeo and Juliet”. In this film, Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) plays one half of the star-crossed lovers as Juliet and Douglas Booth (LOL) as Romeo, which if going by the actual age of the characters in the story, are rather close. Rounding out the cast is Paul Giamatti as the Priest, Ed Westwick as Tybalt, Christian Cook as Mercutio.
For those not familiar with the story, basically there are two families feuding with each other; the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet. When Romeo meets Juliet, he falls madly in love with her and she with him. At first, neither knows their family hates the other, so this love is big-time forbidden. In an attempt to end the feud, the Priest agrees to marry these two crazy kids, but insanity ensues, there is a massive communication failure and lots of people die.
What makes this film so intriguing to watch is that in this film version compared to past renditions, does justice to Shakespeare; keeping it in the original context and tone, but visually exquisite in the details. From the costumes, the casting, the sets/locations, to the originality in the script, this film is Shakespeare done right. If you’re a fan of Shakespeare this is a must-see film, as breathes new life into the timeless tale of star-crossed lovers. Be sure to catch “Romeo and Juliet” when it opens in theaters starting Friday October 11, 2013.
