I would watch “Romeo + Juliet” for all of eternity if possible. It’s a romantic tragedy movie that retells the story of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” play. The Montagues and the Capulets have never gotten along, they have been feuding for as long as time. The hatred is being passed down to their children who are taught to never trust someone from the opposing family. Benvolio and Romeo crash the Capulet’s party, he sees Juliet when he goes to the restroom, and her captivating eyes and alluring essence immediately lure him in. The love between a Capulet and a Montague brings death, suicide, and sadness to Fair, Verona.

The movie’s display of love and its effect on the human mind is immensely intriguing. The relationship between Romeo and Juliet shows that the love in one’s heart will outweigh all hate, they were taught to despise each other from an early age, and even after finding out the true identities of each other, they continue to let their love prosper. The power of love is shown in the play due to Romeo and Juliet’s willingness to run away and even die if it meant that they could openly express their affection in the afterlife.

Luhrman adapts the movie for it to include a blend of modern-day and old-fashioned periods. Rather than two ordinary wealthy suburban families, the Montagues and the Capulets are competing rival gangs who use guns rather than swords. The use of a modern weapon generates suspense and excitement, the watcher can see threats, violent shootings, and death arise in both families due to hatred and the realization of Romeo and Juliet’s unconditional love.

At the beginning of the film, a news reporter is broadcasting about the deaths of Romeo and Juliet on television. I love that Luhrman used this as a way of foreshadowing the movie’s ending and beginning the movie with how news is still being received today. The introduction of early modern English, fashion, ideas on marriage, and party costumes display the contemporary style of the decade and how the people of this decade differed in how they lived their everyday lives. I love that the movie is a blend of old-fashioned and modern-day times allowing people of different generations to relate to it and observe how older generations lived their day-to-day lives.

The film toys with the timeless problems of human beings of any decade: forbidden love, toxic parents, mental health, suicide, rebellious teen years, and feeling that one has failed as a parent. Regardless of the generation or age of a person, a majority of people will relate to suffering with something that revolves around one of these topics. “Romeo + Juliet” includes timeless themes and topics that people of all ages and social classes can relate to/learn from. The movie itself doesn’t revolve around the stereotypical ideal old-fashioned family, it shows that almost every family has flaws that have the potential to advance and make the entire family dynamic crumble.

Overall, it’s an astonishing and thrilling film that I will continue to rewatch, I would even be willing to make it the only film that I watch for the rest of my life. I love that the film takes William Shakespeare’s play and throws a bit of modern language and concepts into it to form a timeless, riveting, and complex display of love and intimacy.