Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous stories about love of all times. Written by William Shakespeare it has been represented many times in different versions. Romeo + Juliet directed by Baz Luhrmann has its own version and vision of this old love story and transports it to a modern time, but following the essence of Shakespeare’s play. The most notable thing of the movie is their characters. Names are the same, but they are not represented exactly the same way Shakespeare described them on his play. The Nurse is my favorite character from the play and there are some aspects that are not the same in Romeo + Juliet.
In the first place, the Nurse of the movie is younger that Nurse from the play. The Nurse from the play that I imagined is and old woman that has lived enough experiences to easily recognize that things around her are good or bad. Shakespeare’s play let you imagine that she is an old and fragile woman that in any time can fall down dead or maybe she would suffer a heart attack because of all the emotions that her dear Juliet provokes on her. The Nurse of the movie is also an old woman, but you can see that physically she is not old enough. For example in the movie she can move easily and quickly. She has the appearance more of an aunt than a grandmother.
In the second place, the Nurse from the play is the confident and servant of Juliet. The Nurse form the movie assumes the same role that is described in the play, but her behavior with Juliet and with people in general is different. The Nurse from the play I imagined is a woman with a strong dignity and security that intimidates people. Also, the Nurse is like a mother for Juliet and she trust her. The relationship in the movie between Juliet and the Nurse is the same relationship that a girl can have with her aunt. The Nurse form the play even is old she flirts with men, and this not happens exactly the same way in the movie. For example in the scene when she goes with Romeo to talk about Juliet, Mercutio jokes with the Nurse and he laughed about the way she talked with Romeo and she just ignore him and dedicates all her attention to Romeo. In the play she is strong enough to confront Mercutio and telling him all the things that she thinks about the Montesco with no fears.
Lastly, the language used in the movie is little different from the one that is used in the play. The language that Shakespeare used in his story is very romantic, formal and it is in prose. In the movie only Romeo and Juliet follow literally the words used by the Romeo and Juliet from the book. Every character in the movie has its own way to speak according with its origins. For example, the Nurse from the movie seems that came from Puerto Rico and her way of speaking is funny. No matter what the Nurse from the book or from the movie is a special character that gave all her support to Juliet. The Nurse is always with Juliet no matter what wrong or bad things the lady does in name of love. This can be seen either in the movie or in the book. Every time the Nurse talks with Juliet she is able to see things that wasn`t clear and gets the courage from her lovely Nurse.
Characters from Romeo + Juliet are unique. The Nurse is an important character for Juliet and sometimes for Romeo. She is and unique old lady with a strong dignity and full of power to defend her dear Juliet. Although the Nurse from the movie is not the same to the Nurse I imagined from the book, the essence of the character is faithful to the character of Shakespeare’s play. In some way the Nurse is like Juliet’s fairy godmother.
