Romeo appears surreal

Romeo and Juliet, the tragic tale of star-crossed lovers, reappeared in theaters last weekend to prove that the eternal classic is truly timeless.

Of course, William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet is not the same poetically verbose play that many of us had difficulty understanding as high school freshmen. Rather, director Baz Luhrmann's version of this love story, the standard for which all others are measured, adds a modern twist that should even attract skeptical critics of the 400-year-old literature.

The film is set in a rugged but fictitious Los Angeles that is only partially contrived when compared with reality's L.A. Luhrmann expands the feud between the Montegue family and the Capulet clan into a full-scale war, conjuring up images of the current gang bloodbath between the Bloods and the Crips.

Another unique attribute of this rendition is the fast-paced film editing which utilizes techniques more commonly found in music videos. Frequently used close-ups and cartoonish visuals initially appear to spoof Shakespeare's tragedy. The movie also features a shift to gun slinging from sword fighting and a change from horses to convertibles. However, the film takes necessary precautions to ensure that the audience sees the movie as a tribute to the world's greatest playwright and not as a parody of a classic.

Throughout the film, Shakespeare's poetic language is spoken nearly verbatim. But the terrific cast, led by Leonardo DiCaprio (Romeo) and Claire Danes (Juliet), follows the well-known dialogue with nary an English accent. Nonetheless, DiCaprio and Danes' on-screen chemistry transcends the antiquated language to produce the beautiful and tragic love story for today's movie-going audiences.

A somber Romeo first views the fair Juliet through the pale blue water of an aquarium at the Capulet mansion. Accompanied by stirring music, the scene sparks the ethereal romance between DiCaprio and Danes by taking advantage of their moving facial expressions. Eloquent lines soon follow, but the wordless moment is magical.

The story is obviously nothing new, but modern interpretations of the play's characters add rage and humor to this picture. Tybalt is vehemently played by John Leguizamo, who epitomizes wickedness while plaguing the Montegues.

In sharp contrast to Tybalt's severity, Harold Perrineau entertains the crowd with his flamboyant portrayal of Romeo's outspoken friend, Mercutio. Perrineau stimulates the film's plot by revealing a trove of wit and sexual innuendo.

A disappointing aspect of this rendition was the limited roles of Romeo and Juliet's fathers. Brian Dennehy and Paul Sorvino played well as Ted Montegue and Fulgencio Capulet despite the lack of quality screen time. Sorvino, in particular, gives a remarkable performance, but due to his tendency to represent mobsters (Goodfellas, The Firm , etc.), it was easier to picture him as a Corleone than a Capulet.

For the most part, William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet is successful in delivering the original epic to modern viewers. In fact, at the story's apex, when Romeo and Juliet lie deathly still beside each other, the entire audience ushered no sound. And then, at a steadily increasing pace, sobs and sniffles began to fill the theater. Few escaped the highly emotional effect induced by the story's climax, and many found themselves searching for a nearby Kleenex to hide their superfluous tears.