Ah, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare’s classic romantic tragedy. You’re likely familiar with the tale, but allow me to summarize:
Romeo and Juliet fall in love. Because their families (Romeo’s Montagues and Juliet’s Capulets) are sworn enemies, they keep this matter a secret. Juliet’s parents then betroth her to another guy. Several misunderstandings later, Mercutio and Tybalt (Romeo’s best friend and Juliet’s cousin, respectively) both die as a result of that secret-keeping.
Juliet then formulates a plan to fake her suicide (I did say this was a tragic tale) in order to escape her family. But wires get crossed, and nobody informs Romeo that Juliet is alive. So, believing Juliet to be dead, Romeo takes his own life. And Juliet, upon waking and discovering her Romeo is dead, ends her life for real.
Yeah, not a happy story. And Shakespeare doesn’t frame it as such. After all, this is the play’s final line:
For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
So why is Hollywood serving us yet another adaptation of this tragedy?
Well, perhaps we don’t have all the information, the musical Juliet & Romeo suggests. Perhaps it’s not nearly as tragic as we’ve been led to believe. Perhaps there’s a happy ending to be found after all.
Without giving too much away, Juliet & Romeo does not end quite as tragically as Shakespeare’s original writing. That isn’t to say that the story isn’t still wildly problematic, just that it softens some of the key plot points.
Friends and families genuinely seem to care about each other. Friar Lawrence, who heads the church in Verona, works with several key players to end the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. The local apothecary owner helps hide several refugee families, smuggling them to safety.
Friar Lawrence isn’t exactly a paragon of Christian virtue. When Romeo pays him a visit early in the day, he finds the friar inebriated. Elsewhere, Friar Lawrence suggests that the Church (which was largely responsible for chronicling history) has manipulated facts in its recollection of past events. But then he himself does the same—albeit, to protect some of those involved from certain death.
Despite these faults, Friar Lawrence does pray for help and guidance. He tells a woman who’s doubting God’s existence that He is indeed listening, even if we don’t understand His silence. The friar crosses himself a few times throughout the film, and he exclaims things such as, “God save us!” He also staunchly defends the faith after witnessing what he believes is “witchcraft” (though he later recants this accusation, realizing that what he’s seeing is based on science, not something supernatural).
Many scenes take place in a church, which has a large crucifix hanging above the altar. Someone nods at this statue of Jesus Christ, asking if God is on their side, to which the friar responds affirmatively.
There’s a reference to Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine (and the local apothecary owner says a man in Tibet taught him how to do the same through science). People talk about the practice of confession. The Pope is described as “tyrannical.” We learn the Catholic Church is currently at war with Italy’s rulers, and perhaps partially responsible for the feud between the Montagues and Capulets.
The Apothecary is Jewish (he wears a yarmulke in one scene), and he helps sneak other Jews out of the country since they are being persecuted for their faith.
Romeo and Juliet kiss and embrace many times throughout the film. A few intimate moments lead to the pair lying down together (once in a church pew, much to Friar Lawrence’s chagrin). But they don’t have sex until after they’re seemingly married by the friar. (It’s a little unclear if they actually wed or not since they never tell anyone, even after Juliet becomes betrothed to another man.) In that scene, they kiss, and Romeo removes his coat, but then the camera pans away.
One song’s chorus says, “I don’t want it all/I just want enough,” likely referring to sex. Couples flirt, kiss and dance intimately. We see an unwed couple enter a bedroom together. Later, they’re seen in bed together, post-coital, with the woman in a nightgown and the man shirtless.
Elsewhere, women’s gowns often show cleavage. Before he meets Juliet, it’s implied that Romeo was a bit of a ladies’ man.
This story deals heavily with suicide, which is depicted onscreen. (See the Spoiler Warning below for more information.) We see several dead bodies lying in state in a church.
Many swordfights and fistfights ensue, often resulting in bloody cuts and bruises. One fight is even sanctioned, treated as a sporting event (though nobody is mortally wounded). But during one swordfight, a man is fatally stabbed. His attacker immediately apologizes, as if he never actually meant to kill his opponent. Unfortunately, the dead man’s relative doesn’t see it that way and kills him swiftly in revenge.
A lord and his soldiers arm themselves for battle, and it seems likely they go to their deaths. Many characters are chased and tackled to the ground.
Romeo’s father is physically abusive. He smacks his son in the face, knocking him to the ground. He grieves after hearing that Romeo has died, but this doesn’t excuse his behavior. For that matter, many people believe Romeo has died after he leaps from a castle window into a river, since his body isn’t recovered. And unfortunately, the truth isn’t discovered until after somebody else dies trying to avenge him.
Romeo bandages Juliet’s hand after she accidentally cuts it.
[Spoiler Warning] Juliet and Romeo each take a poison that simulates death by slowing down the drinker’s heartrate. However, they’re warned that if they don’t receive the antidote in time, they will die. And the people who administer the antidote cut it really close. The Apothecary who developed these potions demonstrates how they work on rats, and he says he uses them to help Jews escape the country.
God’s name, paired with “d–n” is used in a song’s chorus. There are also singular uses of the s-word and “h—.”
The Apothecary sells herbs to Romeo, telling the young man that they’ll “make you dream.” We hear Mercutio’s father was an alcoholic. Many people drink throughout the film.
Juliet implores her mother for the freedom to choose her own future, which Lady Capulet denies, reminding Juliet that she herself had no say in her own future. Granted, Juliet is woefully unaware that her parents are preparing for war—and that a strategic marriage could protect them all. Still, Juliet’s parents arrange for her to be married to a stranger without her knowledge or consent. And the man to whom she’s promised treats her a bit like property.
Romeo is similarly denied the future he wants—and he’s almost willingly ignorant of the coming war. Mercutio wishes a plague on the Montagues and the Capulets after their blood feud results in death.
Many women living in Verona are dissatisfied with their roles in society. And sadly, they are not in positions to change this. We learn that Mercutio was adopted by the Montague family after his own father walked out on him. Many people lie.
Characters grieve after learning of the deaths of their loved ones.
It’s all just so … tragic.
Seriously, let’s revisit Shakespeare’s original play, Romeo and Juliet. Even if it hadn’t ended in the lovers’ deaths—if Juliet’s plan had succeeded, and Romeo had awakened her—it still would’ve been very tragic, because her friends and family all would have thought she was dead. It’s akin to what the friends and families of people who survive a suicide attempt must feel. You’re still in shock. You’re still wondering why they did it. You’re still wishing you could have done something to prevent them from getting to that point.
And even with Juliet & Romeo’s nontraditional ending, the friends and families of the young couple are still stuck with those feelings. They’re still left grieving, without answers or closure.
Sure, it ends the blood feud between the Montagues and Capulets, since they’re all so guilt-ridden. That’s sorta Shakespeare’s whole shtick: Look at what the hatred between your families did to this young couple.
But it’s so extreme! Why are we still, hundreds of years later, using suicide to teach this message? And yet, this story is held up as an exemplar of what true love looks like.
And of course, none of these overarching concerns even accounts for the fact that this film just isn’t good. Every song here is just emphasizing the whole “tragic love” angle. And the acting, the singing, the dancing (or rather, the almost complete lack of dancing) are all just meh.
My opinion? If you want a musical version of Romeo and Juliet, watch West Side Story. At least there you won’t see depictions of teenagers trying to take their own lives.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
