Critics and viewers have noted the film for its aesthetic beauty, though some purists criticized the script's deviations from the original text.
The film’s casting drew significant attention, placing two young and promising actors in the lead roles. Hailee Steinfeld, fresh off her Academy Award-nominated performance in the Coen Brothers' True Grit , was chosen to play Juliet. Opposite her was British actor Douglas Booth as Romeo, who was seen as an up-and-coming heartthrob. Interestingly, Lily Collins was originally selected for the role of Juliet, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, paving the way for Steinfeld.
Em meio a tantas adaptações da obra-prima de William Shakespeare, o longa surge como uma tentativa ousada de devolver a clássica história de amor aos cenários originais da Itália renascentista, após interpretações modernas e ousadas, como a icônica versão de Baz Luhrmann com Leonardo DiCaprio. Dirigido pelo italiano Carlo Carlei e com roteiro do vencedor do Oscar Julian Fellowes ( Downton Abbey ), o filme aposta em uma abordagem visualmente deslumbrante. Contudo, ao se distanciar da linguagem poética shakesperiana para tentar alcançar um público mais jovem, a produção acabou dividindo a crítica e o público, tornando-se um caso curioso de como uma bela aparência nem sempre sustenta uma adaptação fiel. romeu e julieta 2013
Fellowes made the bold creative decision to rewrite and adapt Shakespeare’s original dialogue. While he preserved the famous iambic pentameter and iconic soliloquies, he altered archaic phrases to make the narrative more digestible for contemporary, younger audiences.
Designed by Carlo Poggioli, the wardrobe is a breathtaking showcase of opulent silks, intricate embroidery, and velvet doublet-and-hose sets. The color coding between the two warring houses remains distinct, with the Capulets draped in fiery reds, oranges, and deep purples, and the Montagues styled in cooler blues and greys. Critics and viewers have noted the film for
The supporting cast featured an impressive ensemble of seasoned character actors:
point out that while visually impressive, the language is "butchered" or shortened compared to the original play. Character Focus Opposite her was British actor Douglas Booth as
: The film follows the classic Shakespearean plot, staying surprisingly faithful to the original story beats. In the beautiful city of Verona, the Montagues and Capulets are locked in a bitter, age-old feud. Romeo Montague (Douglas Booth), a love-sick youth, sneaks into a Capulet ball and falls instantly in love with Juliet Capulet (Hailee Steinfeld). They profess their love, are secretly married the next day by Friar Laurence (Paul Giamatti), and are almost immediately torn apart when Romeo is banished for killing Tybalt (Ed Westwick), the instigator of a fight that kills Mercutio. The tragic plan with a sleeping potion goes horribly wrong, leading to the lovers' double suicide in the Capulet tomb and, finally, the reconciliation of the two families. While the plot is intact, the screenplay is the biggest divergence. It uses only some of Shakespeare's original dialogue, replacing much of it with more modern English. This approach was seen as a double-edged sword. It made the film more accessible, but many critics argued that it lost the poetry, wit, and emotional depth of Shakespeare's language.
Para saber mais sobre o contexto de "R&J" de Joe Calarco, você pode pesquisar no site oficial da Veja Rio (arquivo 2013) ou no portal Globo Teatro .
Fresh off her Oscar-nominated breakout role in True Grit (2010), Steinfeld was only 15 years old during filming—making her one of the few actresses in cinema history to match the actual age of Shakespeare’s heroine. Steinfeld brought a fierce intelligence, innocence, and emotional gravity to Juliet, grounding the film's melodramatic moments with genuine pathos.
Em novembro de 2013, o espetáculo voltou ao Rio de Janeiro após uma temporada de sucesso, reforçando sua popularidade e relevância artística. A peça foi apresentada em locais como o Espaço Cultural Eletrobras Furnas e o Galpão Gamboa, atraindo plateias jovens e críticas positivas sobre a nova roupagem do clássico shakespeariano.