Jumpcut review11/30/2022 ![]() At just 90 minutes long, it doesn’t outstay its welcome or lose its sense of fun. However, it does give agency and a voice to a character who has been largely forgotten and is bolstered by some strong performances. It does, at times, feel more like a pantomime than a Shakespeare play with it’s “clumsy female lead” trope and lots of running, shouting and physical comedy. It is essentially a break up romcom that just so happens to borrow two of the most famous characters in literary history. You probably don’t even need to have ever read or seen Romeo and Juliet to enjoy the film. This is a very different story, presented in its own way, using familiar characters in new forms. There’s also a particularly hilarious scene involving a violin version of All By Myself that brings Rosaline into proper “chick flick” territory in a very amusing way.Īll that being said, don’t go into Rosaline expecting a Baz Luhrmann-esque re-telling. There’s everything from Robyn to Roxette being played at the masquerade ball. Romeo and Juliet first cast eyes on each other to an acoustic rendering of Enrique Iglesias’ Escape. The soundtrack offers up lots of fun, too. We’ve all known new relationships like that. There’s even lots of mockery of Romeo and Juliet having only known each other for five minutes yet are willing to risk death to be together. That’s not to say that it is poorly done – it is executed very well and there are plenty of throwaway lines that will resonate with anyone who’s struck out on the dating scene. It’s not as cerebral as the death-laced love Shakespeare presented, it’s more like a high school comedy with plenty of slapstick. There’s a lot of miscommunication, scrambling through landscaped gardens and shrieks of despair. #JUMPCUT REVIEW DRIVER#Minnie Driver makes a brief but impactful appearance as the sarcastic, eye-rolling Nurse.Īnd there is plenty of comedy throughout. Sean Teale is positively brimming with charisma and wit his chemistry with Dever’s Rosaline is just perfect. Just as viewers lost their collective minds for the likes of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Simon Basset, so to is the leather glad, sweeping fringed Dario worth of our swoons. Isabela Merced initially portrays Juliet as dutiful but beautiful, only really finding her strength when she realises that the divide between the Montagues and Capulets could prevent a genuine love match. Kyle Allen’s Romeo is nice but dim, looking like Heath Ledger in Ten Things I Hate About You but not delivering quite as much appeal. It’s a bit of a two dimensional trope, but it works in the context of this particular style of comedy, where everything is hyperbolic. Spencer Stevenson reimagines Paris as Rosaline’s sassy gay best friend. Dever is every bit as charming and effervescent as she was in Booksmart. She isn’t interested in convention or social expectations (her attempts to discourage an elderly suitor are hilarious). Kaitlyn Dever ensures the titular character is fiery and a rule breaker. But, even without the big names attached, the performances are what really make Rosaline so watchable. For whatever reason, these versions have not panned out. Dave Franco was once in the running to play Romeo. Everyone from Keira Knightley to Debra Ann Woll has been, at some point, lined up to play Rosaline. This is a film that has been over twelve years in the making. But perhaps it just goes to show that this tale of fourteenth-century heartbreak is every bit as relevant and relatable as it could be. The period costumes and the casual, modern parlance (“Why are you talking like that?” asks Rosaline, when Romeo proceeds to declare his love via rhyming couplet) is a bit of a strange juxtaposition to start with. There is still that Montague and Capulet divide so there is a familiar level of secrecy surrounding their dates. It is Rosaline who stands on her balcony, breathless with passion at her beau. The opening credits reveal that the film is set in “Verona, Italy … a really long time ago”. There’s just the small matter of Dario (Sean Teale), the keen suitor whom Rosaline’s father has lined up for her … #JUMPCUT REVIEW SERIES#Determined to win him back, Rosaline embarks upon a series of schemes to split up perhaps the most famous literary couple of all time. Rosaline ( Booksmart’s Kaitlyn Dever) is devastated when her former beau, Romeo (Kyle Allen), dumps her in order to pursue her cousin, Juliet (Isabela Merced, of Dora the Explorerfame). ![]()
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