Essay: Romeo and Juliet: How Cinematography Shows Love Can Lead to a Dangerous Path

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a fantastic story about love with many twists and turns that, ultimately, shows that emotions can lead you in a dangerous path. In both Baz Luhrmann (1997) and Franco Zeffirelli’s (1968) version of Shakespeare’s play we are shown that, as a result of complications involved in falling in love, a dangerous path unfolds for Romeo and Juliet resulting in their deaths. The key theme in both film versions is explored through the camera angles of Juliet’s ‘fake’ death, which gives the audience a deep feeling for Romeo and Juliet’s love. The first technique that effects the audience in a positive way in both Zeffirelli and Luhrmann’s film is the use of the close-up camera angles; it provides a more defined shot of the characters facial expression releasing a feel or vibe of what is to come as Juliet and Romeos love comes to an end. It is explained and seen when, in each film, when Juliet is about to drink the potion/vial of sleepiness. The close up of Juliet’s face with the vial just in front of her face showed the audience and taught us that the love flowing between Romeo and Juliet is very dangerous and is leading in a dangerous path if they chose to proceed with their love. Taking the vial and drinking it could be a massive mistake, what if the vial makes Juliet sleep for too long? What if Juliet wakes up too early? Which makes the audience feel nervous. Both Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann make the audience feel this tension of juliets fake death scene as they get a close up and gives the audience a better visual that Juliet has actually drinking the vial which also creates you to always be on the edge of your seat with excitement by the camera angles showing the love and passion in the eyes of Romeo and Juliet from the close ups and over the shoulder camera angles while not knowing what is going to happen to Juliet. Using the camera angle of close up seen when (Juliet is on her bed ready to drink the vial in which will make her sleep but look dead), in which makes the audience feel as if the vial is a character there with Juliet and helps to prove and illustrate love can lead you in a dangerous path. In this scene Juliet confronted multiple close ups which really gives the audience excitement and emotions, another close up is when Juliet looked up praying on her bed hoping that she will see Romeo when she wakes up, this gives up an effect which shows that Juliet is trusting in love and makes Juliet feel more scared than the audience. This shows throughout that love can lead you into a dangerous path as Juliet is very nervous about the plan for Juliet to sleep and wake up in the tomb right beside Romeo alive, Juliet is nervous for this to work but in the end it is all for love, but can Romeo and Juliet trust love, as love can lead you in dangerous paths.
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The key idea of “love can lead you in a dangerous path” is seen through the lighting (present in Juliet’s fake death scene). This shows the many different thoughts of Juliet and her love and can represent the technique of foreshadowing (used by whom? And how? unclear) which is meant that it gives a clue to the film. The second technique used in both Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirelli is the lighting in the scenes expressing the emotions and mood into the scene showing the audience how the characters feel at the time. This is seen when Juliet, in both versions of Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirelli, in which expresses this lighting technique in Juliet’s ‘fake’ death. the lighting is dim and the only light is the candles or the moon’s gloom shining bright into the deathly room. This established the scene as a sad and romantic scene, as Juliet may be waking up too early or to late which could end badly for Juliet in both ways. After Juliet drank the vial the situation escalated into a scene fulfilled with the fear of death through the dangerous path of love. The light in Juliet’s ‘fake’ death is that her face on one side was brighten with candle light and on the other side of her face it was dark and cold. This could represent the two sides of love meaning that drinking the vial there could be consequences or it could happen perfectly and Romeo and Juliet could live happily ever after, which could reflect on the bright and the dark. A candle in this scene is being displayed and gave this scene light, which is showing the light of hope as Juliet prayed the candle still burned strong meaning that there is still strong hope that Romeo will show up or he may not. In Franco Zeffirelli’s version the lighting after Juliet drank the potion got quite blurry, suddenly the candle is the only movement in the scene. When the scene had come to an end until the morning the scene faded out slowly going pitch black. As in Baz Luhrmann the scene ended by multiple candles and is faded out by the end. Lighting is a big role in telling and showing the key idea of “love can lead you in a dangerous path “to the audience which as seen it is portrayed correctly and had told us that love can lead you in a dangerous path from Romeo and Juliet’s story of love through the lighting which connected to the audience’s emotions.