romeo and juliet film review essay

Romeo and Juliet Film Review

This essay will provide a review of a film adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” It will assess how the film interprets the classic play, its fidelity to the original text, the effectiveness of its cast and direction, and its appeal to contemporary audiences. At PapersOwl, you’ll also come across free essay samples that pertain to Film.

How it works

Many iconic creations of literature have been turned into modern, motion films. Shakespeare’s famous Romeo and Juliet is a play that has fallen victim to creators’ hands. Having been recreated a different number of times there is going to be many representations. Directors like Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirelli, both from different decades, have very different ideas of how Shakespeare’s words were perceived. Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet is more successful than Zeffirelli’s 1968 Romeo and Juliet in representing what Shakespeare wanted to have due to the fact of the emotional aspect Luhrmann introduces and Zeffirelli’s more joking portrayal of the scene.

For a movie to be successful in depicting Shakespeare’s magnificent ideology there has to be four main points it has to hit. Act three is the whole climax act where Lady Fortune turns her wheel to the downfall. But it’s so much more, and Luhrmann was the one to capture that. Starting out with the joking around with Benvolio and Mercutio we see Shakespeare showing some foreshadowing of what’s going to happen throughout the scene. “For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.” (III.i.4) can be translated to the exact mood of the play. Outside of the life of Romeo and Juliet hatred fills the air as the family’s feud continues. Even the peacemaker of the play, Benvolio, has a head full “of quarrels as an egg is / full of meat” (III. i. 21-22). That means the first element a movie has to depict is the very mood of hidden hatred behind everyones eyes. Continuing on, advancing a little bit to when Mercutio is dying he says the phrase “A plague a’ both houses!” (III.i.89). This phrase is very meaningful because he repeats it again during his death speak.

Shakespeare most likely wanted that phrase to stand out to make Mercutio look like an bystander pulled into a fight because of the feud. Shakespeare then carries forward on this emotional rollercoaster with the death of Mercutio. While it brings tears to Romeo’s eyes it brings hatred to his heart too. “Away to heaven, respective lenity, / And fire-ey’d fury be my conduct now!” (III.i.122-123) is the exact moment when all peace is thrown out and the built up hatred Romeo has comes out. Finally after Romeo kills Tybalt he yells very iconic words “O, I am fortune’s fool!” (III.i.133). This exact moment is the downfall of love, when the fire is at its highest and hottest point. Shakespeare intends this point to be where love dies, and where regret swoops in to take Romeo away. The four requirements for making an accurate Romeo and Juliet are all there and Luhrmann did it better.

Romeo + Juliet is a better version of Romeo And Juliet because it better meets the requirements for making a good representation of Shakespeare’s play. Starting off with number one, the mood. Luhrmann sets the mood Shakespeare was trying to catch through the weather. When it gets to the darkest of parts a storm starts. A dark sky with some rough winds shows how things are going to be harsh. Next, Luhrmann uses Mercutio to express lots of emotion, which in Shakespeare’s plays is what’s supposed to happen. Yelling time after time “A plague a’ both houses!” shows the emotion for the hatred of the feud Mercutio has. It’s so pure yet so hate filled and that is what Shakespeare wanted from the jokester Mercutio. Progressing onto the third requirement, Romeo’s hatred for Tybalt after he kills Mercutio. Luhrmann’s choice adds dramatic effect to the whole scene. He brings a Juliet scene talking about her love for Romeo up to intersect between the crying of Romeo to him screaming.

Full force screamin, driving a car at high speed. Luhrmann uses special effects and such to get the scene to show the anger and hatred take over just as Shakespeare had wanted. Finally after everything is said and done Romeo takes the essential line, looks up to the sky and screams “I am fortune’s fool!” as thunder cracks in the background. If Shakespeare could, he would have definitely done that in his plays. It adds the dramatic effect he tries to achieve while also focusing on the regret. Luhrmann’s version just better demonstrates what Shakespeare was trying to get out of Act III than Zeffirelli.

While Zeffirelli’s version isn’t bad, it has some downsides which make rank it under the 1996 version. First off, he doesn’t set the mood. Instead of having it be dark and stormy it’s more of a playful mood. Especially because at the beginning Mercutio is in a fountain. Also while fighting Mercutio is joking around with Tybalt instead of having any anger until Tybalt gets triggered from an insult. Next, Mercutio sounds like he’s joking around in his death speech and while it is very good at representing what Shakespeare was trying to say it just doesn’t get to the point enough. When Mercutio dies Romeo seems more blank than sad or angry. He has some anger but his anger isn’t full force rage taking over; it’s more like he’s choosing to be angry. Finally, Romeo doesn’t seem like he regrets killing Tybalt. He’s more confused and just again, blank. Zeffirelli just does not add enough emotion which Shakespeare was trying to get out of all of it and that is why his film was not as good as Romeo + Juliet.

All in all Luhrmann’s film better illustrates Shakespeare’s than Zeffirelli’s. Adding emotion and setting a better mood he achieves the effect Shakespeare was trying to give. While these two movies are heavily compared they are both magnificent works of art and should not be judged over just one little scene. That’s why the original is always the best, Shakespeare’s!

Cite this page

Romeo and Juliet Film Review. (2021, Jun 17). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/romeo-and-juliet-film-review/

"Romeo and Juliet Film Review." PapersOwl.com , 17 Jun 2021, https://papersowl.com/examples/romeo-and-juliet-film-review/

PapersOwl.com. (2021). Romeo and Juliet Film Review . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/romeo-and-juliet-film-review/ [Accessed: 26 Apr. 2024]

"Romeo and Juliet Film Review." PapersOwl.com, Jun 17, 2021. Accessed April 26, 2024. https://papersowl.com/examples/romeo-and-juliet-film-review/

"Romeo and Juliet Film Review," PapersOwl.com , 17-Jun-2021. [Online]. Available: https://papersowl.com/examples/romeo-and-juliet-film-review/. [Accessed: 26-Apr-2024]

PapersOwl.com. (2021). Romeo and Juliet Film Review . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/romeo-and-juliet-film-review/ [Accessed: 26-Apr-2024]

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Hire a writer to get a unique paper crafted to your needs.

Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+!

Please check your inbox.

You can order an original essay written according to your instructions.

Trusted by over 1 million students worldwide

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers

Franco Zeffirelli’s “Romeo and Juliet” Adaptation Essay (Movie Review)

William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet was first published in 1597. The play tells the story of two young lovers, Romeo and Juliet, whose families are feuding, and therefore despite their love, they are both caught up in the ensuing conflict. Both Romeo and Juliet end up dead at the end of the play following a series of misunderstandings occasioned by the continued fights between their families (The Literature Network Para. 7). Romeo belongs to the Montague family while Juliet is born of the Capulet family.

There have been several film adaptations of the play but the film adaptation referred to here was produced in 1968, under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli. The film, going by the name “Romeo and Juliet” just like the play, starred Leonard Whiting as Romeo Montague, and Olivia Hussey as Juliet Capulet.

This film adaptation, unlike most of the others which were produced in later years, depicts the families, lifestyle, practices, and acts as portrayed in the play, and does not adopt a ‘modern’ version of events as many of the subsequent films want to do (Rothwell 326). The director makes every effort to depict an era similar to that intended by Shakespeare.

In most cases, the written text of a play has variations from any movie adaptation. The written texts of any play contain stage directions that serve as a guide for the reader. Although stage directions in the text of a play tend to give the reader a clearer and better understanding of the setting, they can also be interruptive for the reader.

As the plot of the play develops and the reader gets more involved in the reading of the play, the constant need to read the stage directions has a disruptive effect on the reader’s interaction with the play. Film adaptations of plays, as is the case of this particular film adaptation by Franco Zeffirelli, eliminate the part of stage directions, and the viewer is able to enjoy an uninterrupted revelation of the plot of the play.

In this film version of Romeo and Juliet by Franco Zeffirelli, the director has altered, removed, or re-created several scenes. In the play, when Paris faces up Romeo outside the tomb, he executes Paris. The film version does not however portray this part and the entire scene in Act 5 of the play is conspicuously missing in the film.

Since Romeo is the one that kills Paris in an effort to get to his ‘dead’ wife Juliet, the murder of Paris casts him in bad light, and may deny him the sympathy of the viewer. The film thus omits this act of murder so that Romeo may experience the full sympathy of the viewer of the film.

The series of actions preceding Juliet’s swallowing of the sleeping potion has also been altered in the film. In the play, Juliet delivers a long monologue prior to taking the sleeping potion, communicating her fears, her hopes, and her love for Romeo to the audience. However, in the film, Juliet simply swallows the sleeping potion without much ado, simply asking for strength in love before taking the portion.

The film version reduces Juliet’s monologue because of several purposes. Since she proceeds to take the potion anyway, the need for a long speech beforehand may have seemed unnecessary in the eyes of the director. Therefore, there is an element of directive license in this instance. Secondly, in the film, the single sentence by Juliet comes across as very powerful and memorable; the phrase by Juliet asking for strength from love is memorable and is more poignant, and the viewer’s emotional connection with the character/actor is enhanced.

A similar directorial edit occurs in the scenes of the play concerning Romeo’s acquisition of the poison that he takes and finally dies after believing Juliet to be dead. In the text of the play, Romeo purchases the deadly poison from an apothecary, and proceeds to insert it in his pockets. In the film, the scene where Romeo acquires the poison is entirely missing. Therefore, when Romeo is distraught by his lover Juliet’s side, and believes her to be dead, he appears to unleash the poison from his pockets and drinking it with ease.

The element of surprise and a need to create suspense informs the director’s deletion of the scene of Romeo acquiring the poison. In the play, when Romeo buys the poison, the reader can predict, to a certain extent, his next cause of action since he believes that Juliet is dead. Since he has already bought the poison, his devastation at seeing his ‘dead’ wife can easily lead him to take the poison and commit suicide.

In the film, the audience does not see Romeo buy the toxicant; therefore, the audience remains in suspense, not knowing what Romeo would do next. The viewer is unsure of Romeo’s next course of action after his wrong perception of Juliet’s death. The deletion of the scene that shows Romeo purchasing the poison thus enhances the suspense in the film version of the play to the very end.

Additionally, in the text of the play, Romeo’s friend Mercutio dies away from Romeo’s presence, but in the film he dies in the presence of Romeo. Mercutio here plays a role of a very loyal friend, because he dies while defending the honor of his friend, Romeo.

Romeo cannot accept the challenge of Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, because unknown to Tybalt, Romeo has just married Juliet. Romeo thus has his reservations on dueling with his wife’s cousin. Mercutio, ever a loyal friend, steps in on behalf of his friend, but he unfortunately dies in the ensuing battle.

In the play, another friend, Benvolio, leads Mercutio out of the stage, thus he dies out of Romeo’s sight. In the film however, he dies in the presence of Romeo and the scene is quite powerful as Romeo mourns the death. The reason for altering this scene in the film to make Mercutio die in the presence of Romeo is thus to powerfully project the sense of sacrifice of Mercutio, and to convey Romeo’s grief more powerfully.

Various characters in the play are dead or are said to be dead, but are alive in similar circumstances in the film. In the play, Romeo’s mother dies from the shock of her son’s excommunication from the city, but in the film, she does not die and even attends the funeral of her son and Juliet.

Rosaline, an earlier love interest of Romeo, comes up in the film even though she does not appear anywhere in the play. Giving Rosaline a face settles the curiosity of the viewer, since she spurns the interest of Romeo, and thus her character and looks are important for the viewer.

In conclusion, the decision to adopt a play into film always carries the burden of the level of creative license the director should employ. The film should also allow the reader to make his or her own conclusions (Halio 323).

The film should ultimately tell a similar story to the play, but should also incorporate elements that will make the entire efforts worthwhile and enriching. Franco Zeffirelli’s film provides a different angle to one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Romeo and Juliet, thus enriching the viewer’s sense of understanding of the play, even for those who may have previously read/watched the play.

Works Cited

Halio, Jay. “Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet: The Camera versus the Text.” Literature Film Quarterly 5.4 (1977): 322-326.

Rothwell, Kenneth. “Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet: Words into Picture and Music.” Literature Film Quarterly 5.4 (1977): 326-331.

The Literature Network. Romeo and Juliet , 2011. Web.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, October 28). Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" Adaptation. https://ivypanda.com/essays/romeo-and-juliet-franco-zeffirellis-film-adaptation/

"Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" Adaptation." IvyPanda , 28 Oct. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/romeo-and-juliet-franco-zeffirellis-film-adaptation/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" Adaptation'. 28 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" Adaptation." October 28, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/romeo-and-juliet-franco-zeffirellis-film-adaptation/.

1. IvyPanda . "Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" Adaptation." October 28, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/romeo-and-juliet-franco-zeffirellis-film-adaptation/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" Adaptation." October 28, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/romeo-and-juliet-franco-zeffirellis-film-adaptation/.

• Hamlet in the Film and the Play: Comparing and Contrasting
• Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: Act 1 Scene 4 Review
• Different Types of Love Portrayed in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Term Paper
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergei Prokofiev: Literature Connection
• Romeo and Juliet: The Twentieth Century
• Symbolism and Foreshadowing in "Romeo and Juliet"
• Romeo and Juliet’s Analysis and Comparison With the Film Romeo Must Die
• Breaking the Rules: Romeo and Juliet’s Quest for Independence
• "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare: Play's Concept
• Character Analysis of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
• Classism, Ableism and Sexism in the 1939 Film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
• The Secret in Their Eyes
• Analyzing The Rhetorical Aspect In Dexter
• Analysis on "The Orchard walls" by Ruth Rendell
• Imposition of Hollywood Film Restrictions: The Production Code

Romeo + Juliet (United States, 1996)

In Looking for Richard , actor/director Al Pacino expresses his great hope for his film -- to extend his enthusiasm for the Bard's plays to a broader audience. In a very different way, that's what Baz Luhrmann ( Strictly Ballroom ) is attempting to do with this radical approach to "Romeo and Juliet". Luhrmann hasn't fashioned this motion picture with the stodgy, elitist Shakespeare "purist" in mind. Instead, by incorporating lively, modern imagery with a throbbing rock soundtrack and hip actors, he has taken aim at an audience that would normally regard Shakespeare as a chore to be endured in school, not a passionate drama to ignite the screen.

Make no mistake, this Romeo and Juliet isn't the match of Franco Zeffirelli's unforgettable 1968 classic. While Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes make an effective couple, their romance doesn't burn with the white-hot intensity of Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey's. Nevertheless, this interpretation is so fundamentally different from anything to have come before it that there's no danger of repetition. By the same token, there have been two different "Richard III"s in the past twelve months, and no one is complaining.

For those who aren't aware, "Romeo and Juliet" tells the tale of two "star-cross'd" teenage lovers who secretly fall for each other and marry. Their families, the Montagues and Capulets, have been fierce enemies for decades, and, even as Romeo and Juliet say their wedding vows, new violence breaks out between the clans. In the end, their love is doomed. When Romeo mistakenly believes Juliet is dead, he poisons himself. And, when Juliet discovers that he is dead, she too commits suicide.

Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet (properly titled William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet ) takes the play and deposits it in a modern Verona Beach that is part decaying Miami and part Mexico City. By the director's own admission, this is a created world, borrowing aspects of its unique visual style from such diverse periods as the 1940s, 1970s, and 1990s, and using a variety of classic films (most notably Rebel Without a Cause ) for inspiration. Fast cars with roaring engines replace horses. Guns stand in for swords and daggers. The resulting hybrid background is startling.

Romeo and Juliet 's camera is restless, always moving. There are times when the rapid cuts and raging soundtrack might cause understandable confusion between the movie and a rock video. Indeed, with all the camera tricks, special effects (such as a roiling storm), and riotous splashes of color, it's easy to lose the story in the style. Luhrmann's intent was never to drown Shakespeare's dialogue in technique, but it happens, especially early in the film. In the process, the more subtle intangibles of the romance are irretrievably lost.

The movie settles down when Romeo (DiCaprio) and Juliet (Danes) first come face-to-face, gazing at each other through the transparent panes of an aquarium while a love ballad plays in the background. It's a delicately romantic moment whose magic is never quite matched by any other scene in the film. Danes makes a breathtaking Juliet, merging strength and fragility into one. DiCaprio isn't quite as successful as Romeo; there are times when his delivery of Shakespeare's dialogue sounds forced, and, on at least one occasion (when he learns about Juliet's supposed death), he goes way over-the-top.

The supporting cast has its share of successes and failures. John Leguizamo plays a particularly effective Tybalt, Juliet's Latino cousin. Despite a terrible accent, Miriam Margolyes gives a delightful interpretation of Juliet's nurse. In a daring move that works, Harold Perrineau's Mercutio is presented as a high-energy drag queen who gets a chance to strut his stuff to a disco tune with Shakespearean lyrics. Pete Postlethwaite (as Father Laurence) and Vondie Curtis-Hall (Captain Prince) are both at ease in their roles. Brian Dennehy's presence is, as always, imposing, but, as Lord Montague, he doesn't have more than a handful of lines. Less successful are Paul Sorvino's cartoon-like portrayal of Lord Capulet and Diane Verona's Blanche DuBois-flavored version of his wife. And a pair of characters, Paul Rudd's Paris and Jesse Bradford's Balthasar, are so ineffectual that they're virtually invisible.

There are moments of comedy in Shakespeare's play, and Luhrmann tries to transfer some of these over, in addition to adding a few of his own. One in particular, with Romeo ineptly scaling a trellis for the famous balcony sequence, is ill-placed. Also, there are times when the director gets a little too cute. A run-down theater in Verona is called "The Globe" (the name of the locale where Shakespeare's plays were originally performed), and the astute viewer will catch visual references to "The Merchant of Verona Beach", "Rozencranzky's", "Wherefore L'Amour", and "Out, Out Damn Spot Cleaners".

Ultimately, no matter how many innovative and unconventional flourishes it applies, the success of any adaptation of a Shakespeare play is determined by two factors: the competence of the director and the ability of the main cast members. Luhrmann, Danes, and DiCaprio place this Romeo and Juliet in capable hands. And, while such a loud, brash interpretation may not go down in cinematic history as the definitive version of the play, hopefully it will open a few eyes and widen the audience willing to venture into any movie bearing the credit "based on the play by William Shakespeare."

Now, bring on Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet ...

Comments Add Comment

• Cider House Rules, The (1999)
• Citizen Kane (1941)
• War Zone, The (1999)
• Hole in My Heart, A (2005)
• Neon Demon, The (2016)
• Showgirls (1995)
• Titanic (1997)
• Wolf of Wall Street, The (2013)
• Departed, The (2006)
• Beach, The (2000)
• Great Gatsby, The (2013)
• Don't Look Up (2021)
• Princess Mononoke (1999)
• Little Women (1994)
• Rainmaker, The (1997)
• (There are no more worst movies of Claire Danes)
• Ratatouille (2007)
• Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
• First Blood (1982)
• Righteous Kill (2008)
• Song of Sway Lake, The (2018)
• (There are no more worst movies of Brian Dennehy)

Join Now to View Premium Content

GradeSaver provides access to 2360 study guide PDFs and quizzes, 11007 literature essays, 2767 sample college application essays, 926 lesson plans, and ad-free surfing in this premium content, “Members Only” section of the site! Membership includes a 10% discount on all editing orders.

Romeo and Juliet (Film 1968)

Romeo and juliet: a film study anonymous.

Romeo and Juliet - as characters, as symbols of love, and as symbols of innocence torn apart by a hardheaded society - are cultural icons so ingrained in society that they are often synonymous with the very concepts they represent. After centuries of study and countless productions around the globe, Romeo and Juliet remains, line by line, exactly as it was recorded in the quartos and folios of Shakespeare's players themselves. Although the text itself is unchanging, different visions of the work offer a wealth of interpretations of this single, 3006-line play. This study will focus on two cinematic representations of the play: Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 work, and Baz Luhrmann's 1996 production. In each of these films, the final scene of the play serves as the ultimate expression of each filmmaker's intended message. Zeffirelli, holding true to the text, reveals that despite their attempts to ignore it, the lovers in their final scene remain a part of the suffocating society that rules the rest of their lives, as revealed by the omnipresence of the outside world in their most intimate moments. Luhrmann's adaptation of the final scene, however, suggests that Romeo and Juliet have created an idealized world...

GradeSaver provides access to 2312 study guide PDFs and quizzes, 10989 literature essays, 2751 sample college application essays, 911 lesson plans, and ad-free surfing in this premium content, “Members Only” section of the site! Membership includes a 10% discount on all editing orders.

Already a member? Log in

• TOP CATEGORIES
• AS and A Level
• University Degree
• International Baccalaureate
• Uncategorised
• 5 Star Essays
• Study Tools
• Study Guides
• Meet the Team
• Media Studies

Romeo and Juliet Film Review

Romeo and Juliet film review

Probably the worlds most famous love story has been retold in 1997 under the watchful hand of Baz Luhrman (Also directed Moulin Rouge and Strictly Ballroom) who is trying to give this old Shakespeare classic, a more modern touch.

Baz Luhrman simply takes the tragedy from the past, and drops it into the 21 st  century. In this strange new setting, the swords are tossed aside for guns but the old language, remains. Also the film is refreshed by young popular actors such as Leonardo di Caprio. This creates a bizarre mix, where the audience is left to think whether this is still the same old tragedy or something completely different.

This is a preview of the whole essay

The actors mostly play their parts very well, but I think that  (Friar Lawrence) who was also seen in In the Name of the Father  and Miriam Margolyes (Nurse) were outstanding at portraying their characters and the best actors on the set. On the other hand I found the performance by the main figures Leonardo Di Caprio(Romeo) and Claire Danes (Juliet) appauling and it kind of felt like they knew their lines, but had no idea what they were actually talking about. An example of this is how Romeo sometimes says his words without expression or with expression in the wrong place. I think that these roles should have been taken over by more experienced actors, who have played Shakespeare plays before but Leonardo Di Caprio will probably be a reason for many teenagers to see this film so the reason why he was cast is probably because he will attract a bigger young audience

There are not many special effects in this film, but definitely many more than in other versions of the story. I think that the camera was one of the major participants in this film as Luhrman did so many different types of shots and scenes that it just makes this film much more viewable. Examples of this are at the very beginning of the film, there are about 30 different shots right after one another which creates a very fast pace. Other examples include long shots of Verona which are shown very often all through the film, where you can see two big buildings, one with a Montague sign and the other one with a Capulet and a twirl of the camera as transitions between scenes.

As always in love stories or tragedies, music is also a major helper in this film. A slow, romantic song is played when Romeo and Juliet first meet and funky loud music when Romeo and his friends enter the ball.

What Luhrman mainly tries to do with this film, is to make the story more interesting and more appealing to a younger audience, which has decided to try and achieve this with more action packed scenes and fighting. This does though sometimes make the film seem unrealistic, childish even,  like a teenagers version of the tragedy.

This is for sure the most modern and action filled version of the play and I think it can be described as something fresh and new and completely different. This film is a great way of getting a younger generation of people interested in Shakespeare, as it included lots of action and fighting but I am not sure if this film is really a better version of Romeo and Juliet. Although it may not be as interesting and action packed, I think I still prefer the old boring classic Shakespeare tragedy.

Document Details

• Word Count 586
• Page Count 2
• Subject Media Studies

Related Essays

Film Review of "Freedom Writers"

"Sicko" by Michael Moore documentary film review

clue review

Analyse the 3 examples of media provided: A day in the life of, how a mad w...

Romeo and Juliet

William shakespeare, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Romeo and Juliet: Introduction

Romeo and juliet: plot summary, romeo and juliet: detailed summary & analysis, romeo and juliet: themes, romeo and juliet: quotes, romeo and juliet: characters, romeo and juliet: symbols, romeo and juliet: literary devices, romeo and juliet: quizzes, romeo and juliet: theme wheel, brief biography of william shakespeare.

Historical Context of Romeo and Juliet

Other books related to romeo and juliet.

• Full Title: Romeo and Juliet
• When Written: Likely 1591-1595
• Where Written: London, England
• When Published: “Bad quarto” (incomplete manuscript) printed in 1597; Second, more complete quarto printed in 1599; First folio, with clarifications and corrections, printed in 1623
• Literary Period: Renaissance
• Genre: Tragic play
• Setting: Verona, Italy
• Climax: Mistakenly believing that Juliet is dead, Romeo kills himself on her funeral bier by drinking poison. Juliet wakes up, finds Romeo dead, and fatally stabs herself with his dagger.
• Antagonist: Capulet, Lady Capulet, Montague, Lady Montague, Tybalt

Extra Credit for Romeo and Juliet

Tourist Trap. Casa di Giulietta, a 12-century villa in Verona, is located just off the Via Capello (the possible origin of the anglicized surname “Capulet”) and has become a major tourist attraction over the years because of its distinctive balcony. The house, purchased by the city of Verona in 1905 from private holdings, has been transformed into a kind of museum dedicated to the history of Romeo and Juliet , where tourists can view set pieces from some of the major film adaptations of the play and even leave letters to their loved ones. Never mind that “the balcony scene,” one of the most famous scenes in English literature, may never have existed—the word “balcony” never appears in the play, and balconies were not an architectural feature of Shakespeare’s England—tourists flock from all over to glimpse Juliet’s famous veranda.

Love Language. While much of Shakespeare’s later work is written in a combination of verse and prose (used mostly to offer distinction between social classes, with nobility speaking in verse and commoners speaking in prose), Romeo and Juliet is notable for its heady blend of poetic forms. The play’s prologue is written in the form of a sonnet, while most of the dialogue adheres strictly to the rhythm of iambic pentameter. Romeo and Juliet alter their cadences when speaking to each another, using more casual, naturalistic speech. When they talk about other potential lovers, such as Rosaline and Paris, their speech is much more formal (to reflect the emotional falsity of those dalliances.) Friar Laurence speaks largely in sermons and aphorisms, while the nurse speaks in blank verse.

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, romeo & juliet.

Now streaming on:

In the latest movie adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, Hailee Steinfeld duly and dully mumbles this famous phrase during the balcony scene: "O, Romeo, Romeo." By the time this muddled and dumbed-down version of one of the greatest love stories ever told comes to its can't-arrive-soon-enough conclusion, some might be compelled to exclaim, "Oy! Romeo, Romeo."

Turning what should be a hanky-required tragedy into a headache-inducing travesty is no small feat. The Bard's swoony saga of star-crossed teen lovers from opposing feuding families has proved durable no matter what the treatment. The tale has managed to survive over-the-hill actors (Norma Shearer, 36, and Leslie Howard , 42, headlined the 1936 version), New York City gang members who break out in song and dance (1961's musical " West Side Story "), Leonard Whiting's bare bottom (the 1968 youth-targeted version) and even wisecracking garden statuary (2011's animated Gnomeo & Juliet).

But it becomes abundantly clear from the very first scene of a needless bout of jousting that Italian director Carlo Carlei —responsible for 1995's "Fluke," featuring Matthew Modine as a man reincarnated as a dog—is in way over his head, from several misguided casting choices to an intrusive score that sounds like Renaissance faire elevator music.

You would think, however, that Julian Fellowes , the British scribe behind "Downton Abbey" who won a screenwriting Oscar for 2001's " Gosford Park ," is capable of condensing Shakespeare's work with some degree of discernment. But that he's done such a hack job of retaining the power of what famous lines are still intact is a reminder that he was also responsible for 2010's regrettable " The Tourist " and the recent subpar Titanic miniseries.

It might be easier to simply mention what isn't terrible first. Paul Giamatti as Romeo's confidant Friar Laurence and Lesley Manville as Juliet's nurse add much-needed authority and light-heartedness to their roles as go-betweens for their hormonal charges as they arrange to secretly marry. The Verona and Mantua locations are breathtaking. And at least two of the under-30 actors, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Benvolio and Christian Cooke as Mercutio, appear to have brushed up on their Shakespeare before tackling his dialogue. Fans of TV's "Homeland" might also applaud Damian Lewis' interpretation of Juliet's father, Lord Capulet, although the intensity of his line readings tends to stick out among the less-experienced and more lackadaisical actors.

Otherwise, this attempt to sell Shakespeare to the "Twilight" faithful is so ill-conceived, it makes me wish it were possible to give a retroactive Oscar to Baz Lurhmann's madly passionate South Beach gangsterland " Romeo + Juliet " from 1996. 

Here are just five reasons why sitting through this more traditional version is not sweet and may bring you sorrow:

*Somebody misplaced her true grit. In 2010, Steinfeld, 16, was gutsy as heck and took no guff as Mattie Ross, the little lady who hires a drunken gunslinger to hunt down her father's killer in the 2010 remake of "True Grit" and earned a deserved supporting Academy Award nomination. Where did that girl go? Her Juliet is too young, too sweet, too passive and barely looks like she is suffering from puppy love let alone instantaneous lust for her new husband.

*Romeo should never be prettier than Juliet. It's not that Steinfeld isn't perfectly lovely in her own way, even if the costumers insist on swaddling her in gowns that look like Elizabethan bedspreads. It's that the British actor who plays Romeo, Douglas Booth , is just so obscenely male-model attractive, with his pillowy lips, jutting cheekbones and dazzling eyes—and don't the filmmakers know it, as they flaunt his beauty with an open-shirted entrance. 

*The balcony scene takes a tumble. This is the movie's greatest disappointment. Really, if you can't get this right, then why even do Romeo and Juliet? Steinfeld and Booth both struggle with Shakespeare's poetic rhythms. Give them points for even remembering the lines. Meanwhile, the soundtrack with its tooting flutes and twittering violins undercuts every verse. As for the fake vine that Romeo climbs upon—in addition to the faux rose seen previously—they look as if they were plucked from a bargain bin at a Michaels arts and crafts store.

*No nuptial bliss here. Originally, there was nudity and sexuality planned during the post-wedding bedroom scene but was deleted due to Steinfeld's age. Thanks goodness, because even though the two actors barely do more than slightly paw each other and kiss, you still might want to call a child abuse hotline.

*The final straw: when Juliet's hot-tempered cousin Tybalt (played with nostrils at a constant flare by "Gossip Girl"'s Ed Westwick ) enters the street arena with his posse to challenge Romeo's pal Mercutio to a swordfight, laughter rang out when the camera suddenly went slo-mo and dust blew across the screen. And this is when the story is supposed to get truly tragic.

The changes in the final scene are just as unfortunate, but to see them, you will have to stay through to the end. 

Susan Wloszczyna

Susan Wloszczyna spent much of her nearly thirty years at USA TODAY as a senior entertainment reporter. Now unchained from the grind of daily journalism, she is ready to view the world of movies with fresh eyes.

Now playing

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Glenn kenny.

Lousy Carter

Clint worthington.

Remembering Gene Wilder

Matt zoller seitz.

Brian Tallerico

Food, Inc. 2

The Sympathizer

Nandini balial, film credits.

Romeo and Juliet (2013)

Rated PG-13

118 minutes

Douglas Booth as Romeo

Hailee Steinfeld as Juliet

Christian Cooke as Mercutio

Damian Lewis as Lord Capulet

Natascha McElhone as Lady Capulet

Paul Giamatti as Friar Laurence

Kodi Smit-McPhee as Benvolio

Ed Westwick as Tybalt

Lesley Manville as The Nurse

• Carlo Carlei
• Julian Fellowes
• William Shakespeare

Latest blog posts

Preview of Tributes at the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Pioneering Actor-Producer Terry Carter Dies

Cinema Femme Short Film Festival Preview

25 Years Later, Alexander Payne’s Election Remains as Relevant as Ever

• Environment
• Information Science
• Social Issues
• Argumentative
• Cause and Effect
• Classification
• Compare and Contrast
• Descriptive
• Exemplification
• Informative
• Controversial
• Exploratory
• What Is an Essay
• Length of an Essay
• Generate Ideas
• Types of Essays
• Structuring an Essay
• Outline For Essay
• Essay Introduction
• Thesis Statement
• Body of an Essay
• Writing a Conclusion
• Essay Writing Tips
• Drafting an Essay
• Revision Process
• Fix a Broken Essay
• Format of an Essay
• Essay Examples
• Essay Checklist
• Essay Writing Service
• Pay for Research Paper
• Write My Research Paper
• Write My Essay
• Custom Essay Writing Service
• Admission Essay Writing Service
• Pay for Essay
• Academic Ghostwriting
• Write My Book Report
• Case Study Writing Service
• Dissertation Writing Service
• Coursework Writing Service
• Lab Report Writing Service
• Do My Assignment
• Buy College Papers
• Capstone Project Writing Service
• Buy Research Paper
• Custom Essays for Sale

Can’t find a perfect paper?

• Free Essay Samples

movie analysis of romeo and juliet

Updated 25 April 2021

Subject Plays

Downloads 95

Category Literature ,  Sociology

Topic Character ,  Romeo and Juliet ,  Society

Romeo and Juliet in Mid-Victorian England

The dyadic relationship of romeo and juliet, the role of fate in the dyadic relationship, the influence of death on the dyadic relationship.

Deadline is approaching?

Wait no more. Let us write you an essay from scratch

Related Essays

Related topics.

Find Out the Cost of Your Paper

Type your email

By clicking “Submit”, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy policy. Sometimes you will receive account related emails.

Romeo And Juliet Film Review

Baz Luhrmann’s version of “William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet”, who is also the director of Strictly ballroom, is a bold adaptation of the world’s famous tragedy. He offers a trendy, contemporary re-telling of the classic love story with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Romeo and Clare Danes’ Juliet. Even though it is set in a modern day Verona, it still shows the beauty of the romance and keeps in Shakespeare’s dialogue.

Essay Example on Romeo Dan Juliet Film

Juliet is a naive, obedient girl at the beginning of the story, having not experienced true love, but by the time she’s met Romeo and her love has deepened, we see how dramatically her character has developed.

Will Romeo and Juliet ever come out with their marriage ? Well you’ll have to go and see the film ! Claire Danes was brilliantly casted by Luhrman to make a breathtaking Juliet. She flawlessly looks and acts the part whilst beautifully showing her love and passion for Romeo and captures her dramatic transition from childhood to womanhood.

Leonardo DiCaprio was almost as impressive as Romeo. Leonardo captures the intentions of his emotions amazingly. He captures Romeo’s characteristic of acting at the heat of the moment wonderfully, this unfortunate characteristic however, plays a huge role leading up to the lover’s tragic fate. Like Juliet, we see his character develop throughout the play. Romeo is acted very well by Leonardo DiCaprio even though he is a little over exaggerated. The supporting cast are very well played as well.

Proficient in: Plays

“ Rhizman is absolutely amazing at what he does . I highly recommend him if you need an assignment done ”

John Leguizamo plays an effective and amazing Tybalt, Juliet’s Latino cousin.

Lurhman makes a daring move by making Mercutio, Harold Perrineau, a high-energy drag queen he sings and dances with Shakespearean lyrics, but it comes off very humorous and effective. The film is set in ‘Verona Beach’ (Mexico City and a beach on the Pacific Coast) but works extremely well. The fact that it is set very modernly, helps the audience relate to the story and is more entertaining to a wider audience range. The audience range is to people who think Shakespeare is boring and you only see/read his plays in school but adults also would enjoy his film. The music, is also very modern and trendy, not what you would expect in a Shakespeare film. There are some key scenes that stand out and you can’t forget. For example, when we see Mercutio singing at Capulet’s party it is one of the humorous scenes in the play as is Tybalt’s entrance at the petrol station. He walks in and you instantly know he means business and you could say loves himself a little. Some of the more serious scenes stick in your mind as well.

For instance, when Romeo and Juliet first meet you instantly know that it is love at first sight from the gaze in each other’s eyes and how they react. Also, Romeo and Juliet dying. This is one of the most memorable scenes in the play as it is a dramatic, emotional scene as you see how much love is in their relationship. All in all, what Luhrman did with the film was both bold and brilliant, and he succeeded wonderfully. I highly recommend you see this film, even if you aren’t a Shakespeare fan, you will enjoy this hip modernization of Shakespeare’s most famous play ever.

Cite this page

Romeo And Juliet Film Review. (2019, Nov 27). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/paper-on-romeo-and-juliet-film-review/

"Romeo And Juliet Film Review." PaperAp.com , 27 Nov 2019, https://paperap.com/paper-on-romeo-and-juliet-film-review/

PaperAp.com. (2019). Romeo And Juliet Film Review . [Online]. Available at: https://paperap.com/paper-on-romeo-and-juliet-film-review/ [Accessed: 26 Apr. 2024]

"Romeo And Juliet Film Review." PaperAp.com, Nov 27, 2019. Accessed April 26, 2024. https://paperap.com/paper-on-romeo-and-juliet-film-review/

"Romeo And Juliet Film Review," PaperAp.com , 27-Nov-2019. [Online]. Available: https://paperap.com/paper-on-romeo-and-juliet-film-review/. [Accessed: 26-Apr-2024]

PaperAp.com. (2019). Romeo And Juliet Film Review . [Online]. Available at: https://paperap.com/paper-on-romeo-and-juliet-film-review/ [Accessed: 26-Apr-2024]

• Reflection Essay On Romeo And Juliet Film Pages: 3 (826 words)
• Romeo And Juliet Film Analysis Pages: 5 (1295 words)
• Juliet’s Relationship with Her Parents in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Pages: 4 (1182 words)
• How far is Juliet a victim in "Romeo and Juliet" Pages: 7 (1858 words)
• Juliet's Passion in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Pages: 3 (746 words)
• Juliet's Character Development in Romeo and Juliet Pages: 11 (3128 words)
• Juliet's Relationship with her Parents in 'Romeo and Juliet' Pages: 14 (3980 words)
• Review Of Romeo And Juliet Pages: 5 (1250 words)
• Romeo and Juliet in Vigata by Andrea Camilleri Review Pages: 3 (883 words)
• Film "Notebook" Made Film Pages: 4 (995 words)

Romeo and Juliet

By william shakespeare.

Shakespeare creates an absolute masterpiece here with his groundbreaking ideas underpinned by his legendary writing skills. 

About the Book

Article written by Lee-James Bovey

P.G.C.E degree.

Romeo and Juliet almost speaks for itself. However, in keeping with the other articles on Book Analysis , we will try and review it honestly. (As honest as can be from a self-proclaimed Shakespeare fanboy!)

Characterization

It is not as straightforward to show characters in a play. Often the actors themselves help bring a text to life. However, having done some amateur theatre what I can say categorically is that with a dull script the talent of the actors is irrelevant. That is not an issue here. There is a range of characters and they all feel distinct from one another.

We see a range of motivations and people adapting the way they behave to suit their situation. Take for instance the character Lord Capulet who is defensive about the idea of Juliet marrying given her age but in the wake of Tybalt’s death and facing her showing a rebellious side he transforms completely appearing to threaten violence against her.

It is well known that Shakespeare borrowed plot ideas liberally from ancient Greek plays . However, with Romeo and Juliet , he broke new ground. Of course, it wasn’t the first tragedy but it was the first to use love as the hero’s fatal flaw. Up until this point, of course, we had seen love in plays but usually in comedy. It was considered not serious enough to warrant being a factor in a tragedy. The impact of this has shaped culture immeasurably.

But is the plot any good? It is not his most complex. There are no multiple side plots at play. However, it is such a good story. It truly is timeless and has been borrowed and liberally ripped off for centuries since. Personally, it is one of my favorites.

Language use

There is no doubt that Shakespeare was a master of his craft. So much of what he has written has shaped and bled into modern society. What he always did beautifully is use speech patterns to denote class or changes in status. Or in the case of Rome and Juliet to signify love. You know how they say when people are in love they “complete one another” Shakespeare subconsciously shows us that. When Romeo and Juliet first talk to one another their words form a perfect Shakespearean sonnet. Isn’t that beautiful? Plus looking beyond that you have the subtle difference in the way Romeo describes Juliet compared to Rosaline.

His metaphors are all about war and misery with Rosaline signifying his inner turmoil while his imagery when describing Juliet draws on religion and light. These skills combined with the masterful use of foreshadowing and the beautifully crafted witty exchanges between Romeo and Mercutio prove just how good the bard was.

It might not be the literary critic’s favorite. That honor seems to lie with Hamlet but can you really argue with the lasting appeal of Romeo and Juliet ? Here is a play that is still discussed and performed more than 400 years after it was written in an era where the language has developed so much that people struggle to understand everything which is said and yet it maintains its mystique. Some could point to the literary canon and suggest that it is full of dead white men and of course that is correct. I would suggest that not all of those dead white men deserve their place either.

However, I do not believe that you can extend that critique to the works of Shakespeare who was clearly ahead of his time in terms of the issues he was tackling. He also consistently displayed a masterful use of language and was as good at turning a phrase as anyone who has ever picked up a quill or sat in front of a typewriter. So, yes while I do display a certain degree of bias towards Shakespeare I still believe that Romeo and Juliet is an absolute masterpiece.

Should you read it?

This is a slightly more complex question to answer than you might expect. Yes, Shakespeare was a phenomenal writer but he was not an author. You can read his works and get enjoyment from them but truly to see them brought to life I’d recommend going to the theatre and seeing them performed and if you can’t bring yourself to do that watch one of the movies adaptations. So yes by all means read it. But if you ever get the opportunity to see it performed, do that! Especially if it is by somebody who does it well like the RSC in the UK.

Romeo and Juliet: Still as relevant today as it was in its day

• Writing style
• Lasting effect on reader

Romeo and Juliet Review

• Impeccable use of language
• Iconic story
• The music scene near the climax is dated
• Some of the humour is lost on a modern audience
• Language can be tricky to understand

About Lee-James Bovey

Lee-James, a.k.a. LJ, has been a Book Analysis team member since it was first created. During the day, he's an English Teacher. During the night, he provides in-depth analysis and summary of books.

Join Our Free Community

Engage in Literary Forums

Create and Join Groups

Create your own profile

See fewer ads

Save and bookmark articles

Discover literature and connect with others just like yourself!

Start the Conversation. Join the Chat.

There was a problem reporting this post.

Block Member?

Please confirm you want to block this member.

You will no longer be able to:

• See blocked member's posts
• Mention this member in posts
• Invite this member to groups

Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.

'Romeo and Juliet' staring Tom Holland ignites fury and racial backlash online

T he excitement surrounding the stage version of "Romeo and Juliet" took a sour turn upon the announcement of the cast. Tom Holland, a familiar face from Hollywood, was set to portray Romeo, while newcomer Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, an African-American actress, was cast as Juliet. This selection sparked a backlash on the internet, with some individuals resorting to making racist remarks towards Amewudah-Rivers.

As of now, Amewudah-Rivers has yet to respond publicly, though reports suggest the level of hate directed at her is unprecedented, even by the standards of social media abuse. The intensity of this backlash emerged even before the play's debut.

Feeling overwhelmed by the situation, the British actress deactivated the commenting feature on her Instagram account, which included posts about “Romeo and Juliet.”

"Romeo and Juliet" play details

Directed by Jamie Lloyd, the new production of "Romeo and Juliet" is set to premiere on May 11 at London's Duke of York’s Theatre, running until August 3. Tom Holland has expressed his excitement about the project on Instagram, highlighting the collaborative spirit of the cast.

Tom said he was "beyond excited to announce our cast for Romeo and Juliet". Francesca also shared the news on social media, where she unfortunately faced a barrage of hateful and vulgar responses. The casting decision has prompted a significant portion of the audience to express their displeasure, with some going as far as to label it “the worst casting of all time.”

Addressing the Hate

The casting has drawn criticism not only for its racial implications but also because some feel Francesca's appearance diverges from the traditional image of Juliet. There's a faction of the audience that would prefer Zendaya, Holland's real-life partner, for the role.

The Jamie Lloyd Company has stood by Amewudah-Rivers, condemning the abuse and committing to combat any forms of harassment.

"We are working with a remarkable group of artists. We insist that they are free to create work without facing online harassment. We will continue to support and protect everyone in our company at all costs. Any abuse will not be tolerated and will be reported.," stated the Jamie Lloyd Company.

British screenwriter and film director Terence Davies dies at 77

Beverly Hills 90210 star David Gail's tragic death at 58 shocks fans and family

Sydney Sweeney's revolting 'Euphoria' scene: real vomit, hard work, and why season 3 is delayed

Advertisement

Supported by

Critic’s Notebook

‘James,’ ‘Demon Copperhead’ and the Triumph of Literary Fan Fiction

How Percival Everett and Barbara Kingsolver reimagined classic works by Mark Twain and Charles Dickens.

• Share full article

By A.O. Scott

One of the most talked-about novels of the year so far is “ James ,” by Percival Everett. Last year, everyone seemed to be buzzing about Barbara Kingsolver’s “ Demon Copperhead ,” which won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction . These are very different books with one big thing in common: Each reimagines a beloved 19th-century masterwork, a coming-of-age story that had been a staple of youthful reading for generations.

“Demon Copperhead” takes “David Copperfield,” Charles Dickens’s 1850 chronicle of a young boy’s adventures amid the cruelty and poverty of Victorian England, and transplants it to the rocky soil of modern Appalachia, where poverty and cruelty continue to flourish, along with opioids, environmental degradation and corruption. “James” retells Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” first published in 1884, from the point of view of Huck’s enslaved companion, Jim — now James.

The rewriting of old books is hardly a new practice, though it’s one that critics often like to complain about. Doesn’t anyone have an original idea ? Can’t we just leave the classics alone?

Of course not. Without imitation, our literature would be threadbare. The modern canon is unimaginable without such acts of appropriation as James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” which deposited the “Odyssey” in 1904 Dublin, and Jean Rhys’s “Wide Sargasso Sea,” an audacious postcolonial prequel to “Jane Eyre.” More recently, Zadie Smith refashioned E.M. Forster’s “Howards End” into “ On Beauty ” and tackled Dickens in “ The Fraud, ” while Kamel Daoud answered Albert Camus’s “The Stranger” with “ The Meursault Investigation .”

Shakespeare ransacked Holinshed’s “Chronicles” for his histories and whatever Latin and Italian plays he could grab hold of for his comedies and tragedies. A great many of those would be ripped off, too — reinvented, transposed, updated — by ambitious artists of later generations. Tom Stoppard and John Updike twisted “Hamlet” into “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” and “Gertrude and Claudius.” “Romeo and Juliet” blossomed into “West Side Story.” The best modern versions of “Macbeth” and “King Lear” are samurai movies directed by Akira Kurosawa .

As for Dickens and Twain, it’s hard to think of two more energetic self-imitators. Their collected writings are thick with sequels, reboots and spinoffs. Literary brands in their own right, they were among the most successful IP-driven franchise entertainers of their respective generations, belonging as much to popular culture as to the world of letters.

“David Copperfield,” drawing on incidents in Dickens’s early life and coming in the wake of blockbusters like “The Pickwick Papers” and “Oliver Twist,” functions as an autobiographical superhero origin story. David, emerging from a childhood that is the definition of “Dickensian,” discovers his powers as a writer and ascends toward the celebrity his creator enjoyed.

Twain was already famous when he published “Huckleberry Finn,” which revived the characters and setting of an earlier success. The very first sentence gestures toward a larger novelistic universe: “You don’t know about me without you have read a book by the name of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’; but that ain’t no matter.” (Classic sequelism: a welcome back to the established fans while ushering in the newbies.) Tom, who very nearly ruins Huck’s book when he shows up at the end, is the heart of the franchise: Tony Stark to Huck’s Ant-Man, the principal hero in an open-ended series of adventures, including a handful that Twain left unfinished .

“James” and “Demon Copperhead,” then, might fairly be described as fan fiction. Not just because of the affection Everett and Kingsolver show for their predecessors — in his acknowledgments, Everett imagines a “long-awaited lunch with Mark Twain” in the afterlife; in hers, Kingsolver refers to Dickens as her “genius friend” — but because of the liberties their love allows them to take. “Huckleberry Finn” and “David Copperfield” may be especially susceptible to revision because they are both profoundly imperfect books, with flaws that their most devoted readers have not so much overlooked as patiently endured.

I’m not talking primarily about matters of language that scrape against modern sensibilities — about Victorian sexual mores in Dickens or racial slurs in Twain. As the critic and novelist David Gates suggests in his introduction to the Modern Library edition of “David Copperfield,” “sophisticated readers correct for the merely antiquated.” I’m referring to failures of stylistic and narrative quality control.

As Gates puts it, Dickens’s novel “goes squishy and unctuous” when he “stops following his storytelling instincts and starts listening to extra-literary imperatives.” Preachiness and piety are his most evident vices. Twain’s much noted misjudgment goes in other directions, as he abandons the powerful story of Huck and Jim’s friendship — and the ethical awakening at its heart — to revert to strenuous boys-adventure Tom Sawyerism. The half-dozen final chapters postpone Jim’s freedom so that Tom — and possibly Twain as well — can show off his familiarity with the swashbuckling tropes of popular fiction and insulate “Huckleberry Finn” from the charge of taking itself too seriously.

“Persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished,” Twain warned in a prefatory note. But “Huckleberry Finn” and “David Copperfield” are both essentially comic — sometimes outright hilarious — novels rooted in hatred of injustice. It’s impossible to tease those impulses apart, or to separate what’s most appealing about the books from what’s frustrating.

That tension, I think, is what opens the door to Kingsolver’s and Everett’s reimaginings. For Kingsolver, “David Copperfield” is an “impassioned critique of institutional poverty and its damaging effects on children in his society. Those problems are still with us.” (“You’d think he was from around here,” her protagonist says when he reads Dickens for the first time.)

One way Kingsolver insulates “Demon Copperhead” from Dickensian sentimentality is by giving her protagonist a voice likely to remind many readers of Huckleberry Finn himself. Huck, after all, is the North American archetype of the resourceful, marginal, backwoods man-child. Though she doesn’t push as far into regional dialect as Twain did, the tang and salt of what used to be called southwestern humor season her pages.

Dialect figures in Dickens and Twain as a mark of authenticity and a source of laughter. In “James,” Everett weaves it into the novel’s critique of power. He replicates Jim’s speech patterns from “Huckleberry Finn,” but here they represent the language enslaved Black characters use in front of white people, part of a performance of servility and simple-mindedness that is vital to surviving in a climate of pervasive racial terror. Among themselves, James and the other slaves are witty and philosophical, attributes that also characterize James’s first-person narration. “Never had a situation felt so absurd, surreal and ridiculous,” he muses after he has been conscripted into a traveling minstrel show. “And I had spent my life as a slave.”

In “Huckleberry Finn,” Jim is Huck’s traveling companion and protector, the butt of his pranks and the agent of his redemption. Early in their journey downriver, Huck is stricken with guilt at the “sin” of helping Jim escape. His gradual understanding of the error of this thinking — of the essential corruption of a society built on human chattel — is the narrative heart of Twain’s book. Against what he has been taught, against the precepts of the “sivilized” world, he comes to see Jim as a person.

For Everett’s James, his own humanity is not in doubt, but under perpetual assault. His relationship with Huck takes on a new complexity. How far can he trust this outcast white boy? How much should he risk in caring for him? To answer those questions would be to spoil some of Everett’s boldest and most brilliant twists on Twain’s tale.

Which, in Everett’s hands, becomes, like “David Copperfield,” the story of a writer. James, who has surreptitiously learned how to read, comes into possession of a pencil stub — a treasure whose acquisition exacts a horrific cost. It represents the freedom of self-representation, the hope, implicitly realized by the novel itself, that James might someday tell his own story.

James’s version is not something Twain could have conceived, but it is nonetheless a latent possibility in the pages of “Huckleberry Finn,” much as the terrible logic of dispossession, addiction and violence in 21st-century America can be read between the lines of Dickens. Everett and Kingsolver are able to see that. This is what originality looks like.

A.O. Scott is a critic at large for The Times’s Book Review, writing about literature and ideas. He joined The Times in 2000 and was a film critic until early 2023. More about A.O. Scott

Explore More in Books

Want to know about the best books to read and the latest news start here..

Salman Rushdie’s new memoir, “Knife,” addresses the attack that maimed him  in 2022, and pays tribute to his wife who saw him through .

Recent books by Allen Bratton, Daniel Lefferts and Garrard Conley depict gay Christian characters not usually seen in queer literature.

What can fiction tell us about the apocalypse? The writer Ayana Mathis finds unexpected hope in novels of crisis by Ling Ma, Jenny Offill and Jesmyn Ward .

At 28, the poet Tayi Tibble has been hailed as the funny, fresh and immensely skilled voice of a generation in Māori writing .

Amid a surge in book bans, the most challenged books in the United States in 2023 continued to focus on the experiences of L.G.B.T.Q. people or explore themes of race.

Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .