I would like to thank my descendants that my work is not forgotten. This story of eternal love is probably relevant in your days, so there are many film adaptations and versions of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The new adaptation of my play generally made a controversial impression: the actors look suitable for their roles, but the internal theme of the play seems to be not so profoundly got.
Carlo Carlea’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (2013) was filmed on medieval sites and villas in various Italian cities with a minimum of historical inaccuracies. The play of some characters is good: Hayley Steinfeld reminds us that Juliet was a child by modern standards, not yet a woman. Some of the scenes have been reworked to understand the story by the younger public better. The details have been changed, and the lines have been cut to maintain the frantic emotional level that modern audiences demand. As soon as the film opens, it becomes obvious that the prologue has been transformed. Romeo does not exude an ounce of passion or romance, although he is slightly more masculine in terms of manner, voice, and fighting than in previous incarnations. I wonder if the director and producers understood the play’s timeless themes.
They made a film that, I think, includes humanity’s greatest weaknesses and strengths when it comes to both love and lust. However, once the characters begin to behave radically differently, with dialogue thoughtlessly thrown in and topics ignored or trampled upon, it ceases to be an adaptation and instead becomes a parody. The adaptation seems to fall short of the problems posed in the original play.