Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words (2019)

As members of the feuding Capulet and Montague families, Romeo and Juliet should be sworn enemies, but they fall deeply in love and marry in secret. This sets off a chain of events that culminate in tragedy.

Director:

Michael Nunn

Writers:

Kenneth MacMillan (Choreographer), Michael Nunn (Writer)

Stars:

William Bracewell, Francesca Hayward, Matthew Ball

Cast

Credited cast:
William Bracewell	...	Romeo
Francesca Hayward	...	Juliet
Matthew Ball	...	Tybalt
Marcelino Sambe	...	Mercutio (as Marcelino Sambé)
James Hay	...	Benvolio
Kristen McNally	...	Lady Capulet
Christopher Saunders	...	Lord Capulet
Romany Pajdak	...	Nurse
Tomas Mock	...	Paris
Bennet Gartside	...	Friar Laurence
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tierney Heap	...	Harlot
Laura Morera	...	Harlot
Beatriz Stix-Brunell	...	Harlot

Storyline

As members of the feuding Capulet and Montague families, Romeo and Juliet should be sworn enemies, but they fall deeply in love and marry in secret. That very day, disastrous circumstances lead Romeo to fight and kill Juliet's cousin Tybalt, setting off a chain of events that culminate in tragedy. Juliet takes a potion to avoid the love-match her parents have set up for her, and Romeo, believing she is dead, poisons himself. When she wakes from her deep sleep, Juliet finds the body of her love, and is so distraught that she stabs herself, joining him in death. Starring William Bracewell and Francesca Hayward with artists of The Royal Ballet, this is the story everyone knows, told in a language everyone understands, presented in a way never seen before.

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Plot Keywords:

shakespeare adaptation | ballet | thin attractive woman | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

British Broadcasting Corporation [United Kingdom] Official site

Country:

UK

Release Date:

November 2019 (UK)

Also Known As:

Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$32,096

Company Credits

Production Co:

Romeo and Juliet Productions, Footwork Films, Manilla Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Huge Royal Ballet fan, but something felt off

Francesca Hayward's Juliet is absolutely beautiful. She's adapted the role from the stage production to the big screen in a way that other ballerinas with more years behind them would struggle to do. All of the RB's dancers did very well in a heritage piece for the company and should be proud.

However:

All of the shots are really badly blocked and framed. People in the courtyard and Capulet ball scenes were consistently walking in front of the camera and across the shot, with the iconic balcony & bedroom pas de deuxs being obstructed by plants and curtains. Not to mention the fountain directly in the middle of one of the courtyard scenes that was shown about 20 times for no particular reason. In a regular film, this would be bad, but with dancers it works even less due to their lower bodies being constantly cut off. The genius subtleties of Kenneth Macmillan's choreography (e.g., Juliet's bourrées around the Nurse in the scene where she first meets Paris that are echoed just before she decides to drink poison) are lost imo.

The bad blocking is most evident at the beginning when the Capulet & Montague boys fight. It's hard to describe if you haven't seen the stage production, but onstage it works perfectly and the first sword fight scene leaves you in awe - but since basic rules of cinematography aren't followed throughout, the scene becomes cramped and messy so you have no sense of anybody's location. What's supposed to be a peak moment of the ballet seems confusing and small-scale when it should be grandiose. It's a similar problem with the Capulet ball scene.

I understand why this filming style was chosen. R&J Beyond Words is meant to look realistic. Unfortunately, it hinders the choreography and just comes off more peeping Tom.

I hope that Balletboyz continue to make more ballets into films. R&J was a solid attempt that still works because the combo of talented dancers and classic stories can't really fail. I think film cinematographers and people that specialise in translating choreography to film are needed.