The problem for any fresh undertaking of Shakespeare’s star-crossed romance is that the shadow of Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 revamp looms so large.
So it’s sensible that Carlo Carlei's adap adopts a traditional, unfussy approach, with characters garbed in puffy-sleeved medieval finery, sauntering around gorgeous Italian locations and spouting the Bard’s extravagant dialogue in easy-to-follow soundbites (courtesy of a streamlining job by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes).
The forbidden lovers are teen-girl-friendly casting, with Hailee Steinfeld a relatable Juliet and Douglas Booth a boy-band-pretty Romeo. Paul Giamatti offers good value, too, as Romeo’s friar confidant.
Perfectly respectable, but it won’t linger in the memory like Luhrmann’s.
