2021 Sundance Film Festival Review – R#J
Starring Camaron Engels, Francesca Noel, David Zayas, Diego Tinoco, Siddiq Saunderson, and Russell Hornsby.
SYNOPSIS:
A modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy “Romeo and Juliet.”
A movie adaptation of The Bard’s most popular play for the Instagram set has the obvious potential to be completely insufferable, and yet, Carey Williams’ daring debut harnesses just enough beguiling skill and slipperiness to prove itself worthwhile.
Perhaps every generation gets the
Romeo and Juliet movie they deserve; Baz Luhrman’s 1996 take perfectly captured the edgy gloss of the MTV generation with its staccato editing and marrow-rich colours, while if nothing else, this new take for the social media generation captures modern youth in all of its openness, sensitivity, and yes, narcissism.
Diego Tinoco and Siddiq Saunderson – about social media sequels, Shakespeare and sets. Click here to watch Engels and Saunderson or here to watch Noel and Tinoco!
About The Film: In fair Verona, a war as old as time is brewing between rival houses – but itâs being captured in a new way. Montague (Engels and Saunderson) and Capulet (Noel and Tinoco) Gen Zers are using their cell phones to document the eruptions of violence plaguing their communities. In the middle of it all, Romeo discovers Julietâs artwork at a party, and the two inevitably fall in love. As tensions between their families escalate, the two plead for peace and desperately search for a way to escape their star-crossed destiny.
POPSUGAR chatted with R#J star Diego Tinoco about the dangers of social media, his role as Tybalt, and how he's not so different from On My Block's Cesar.
Camaron Engels and Francesca Noel appear in “R#J” by Carey Williams, an official selection of the NEXT section at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)
This review contains spoilers.
Reimagined in Carey Williams’ Gen Z inspired “R#J” is the infamous age-old story of star-crossed lovers, Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Set in the modern day, this rendition follows Romeo and Juliet as they fall in love entirely through social media and their smartphone screens.
Straying from the original script, the characters use modern-day slang through text and social media but Shakespearean English in video calls/livestreams. Though a unique selling point at first, after about 15 minutes when social media’s gimmick wears off, the film is left constrained by these tropes.
Every generation has their iteration of the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet, whether it s the titular 1968 film directed by Franco Zeffirelli or the iconic Baz Luhrmann-directed 1996 feature starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Now, there s
R#J, Carey Williams s bold technological take on the tragic tale of teenage lovers that spins the traditional story on its head. In the Gen-Z-centric adaptation, which premiered at the virtual Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 30, Williams poses the question of what would happen if Romeo and Juliet were members of the social media-savvy generation that have only lived in a world where everything happens online.