Throughout this movie I took notes on the symbolism of water. Water was everywhere in this movie. There was water when somebody would die, or when Romeo and Juliet would meet. It was like water played another obstacle to their love other than their families. Then again, I think that it is because water was everywhere in Verona. There were fountains, pools, beaches, fish tanks, tubs, sinks, and continuous storms. Water plays a huge role in this movie and it symbolizes how tragic and pleasant life can be.
Water represents the enchanting things in life because that is how Juliet is introduced, it's how Romeo and Juliet meet, etc. In the beginning Juliet is introduced with her head plunged into a sink of water, her hair is floating, and her eyes are wide open. With her hair floating around and the fact that she has no make-up on gives off this feeling that a lot of her image has to do with beauty and sexuality. But then again it makes her seem so pure. I think in that scene, Juliet is trying to escape the world outside of her sink of water. She's looking for a way to leave this party without actually leaving. Later on, we find Romeo also doing the same except he's not trying to escape. Earlier, Romeo had taken some kind of drug which was making him hallucinate. He had gone into the bathroom to try and wash his face to see if that helped a little bit. In this part he is positioned exactly like Juliet. His head is in the sink of water, his hair is floating, and his, clear ocean blue, eyes are opened wide. I think that here Baz Lurhmann was trying to show the little similarities that Romeo and Juliet had. It was like he was using the saying that, "your eyes are the window to your soul." I felt that you could actually see a tiny piece of Romeo and Juliet's soul. Also, when Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time. I thought that was a magical moment. It was love at first sight. What appealed to me was that their figures were distorted through the fish tank. I interpreted it as if Romeo and Juliet's family think so big of themselves that it would be impossible for them to ever have a relationship. Like their pride is worth much more than shaking hands and letting their children have a relationship.
Water also symbolizes the tragedies that happen in life. For example, Tybalt dies, Mercutio dies, Romeo is depressed, and Romeo is banished. Tybalt and Mercutio both die in the same scene, first Mercutio dies and then Tybalt quickly follows him. Tybalt is killed by Romeo and Mercutio is killed by Tybalt. These deaths both happen near water. Romeo and his friends are at the beach when Tybalt and his friends drop by. Tybalt was furious because Romeo was at the Capulet party that he was not invited to and therefore Tybalt had come to get his revenge. Unfortunately, Tybalt ends up on the ground but quickly grabs a piece of glass and stabs Mercutio, Romeo's best friend. While they were fighting there was thunder rippling out of the dark, gray sky. When Mercutio dies it starts to pour and that's when Romeo loses it. He jumps into his car and steps on the gas to catch up with Tybalt. He wasn't going to let Tybalt get away with it. When he catches up he collides into Tybalt's vehicle, tumbling it all over the place. It was currently pouring like crazy and somehow Romeo gets Tybalt at the top of the stairs to the fountain. That's when he pulls the trigger multiple times on Tybalt. As Tybalt dies he falls backwards into the fountain behind him. He leaves an enormous splash behind him. I think that this part of the movie is where Lurhmann tried to include water as much as he could. He was trying to get his point across to the audience that water doesn't only symbolizes the clear, pure moments in life but also the fatal. And he absolutely got that point across to me.
Baz Lurhmann did an amazing job with this movie. To convert the play from an old english time to modern time is difficult to do. Not only that but he incorporated color, the use of weather, camera angles, light, and sound to make this movie amazing. I also think he did an astonishing move by casting, heartthrob, Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo. He accomplished the difficult personality of Romeo and also Romeo's ravishing beauty.
