When Romeo + Juliet got here out, DiCaprio admitted that he did not know how the idea—Elizabethan language in a hyper-modern setting—could be acquired, irrespective of how timeless the fabric.
However “I’ve to say,” he informed i-D in 1997, “the primary time I knew it was working was the primary day of labor. It truly appeared extra pure, extra ‘meant to be’ than a standard model.”
“Despite the fact that it is a fantasy world,” he defined, “it has a number of trendy references in it, particularly with the violence and gang warfare, so it made me really feel rather a lot nearer to dwelling. I feel Shakespeare in all probability would have needed his work to stay on by way of the years, develop into a timeless piece that might adapt to the longer term.”
And of enjoying Romeo, DiCaprio mentioned, “It was fascinating as soon as I actually began to analysis him, as a result of you have got this pre-planned thought of what Romeo’s alleged to be, just a few fluffy romantic sort of man, however then you definately kind of understand that he was a hopeless romantic, after which he meets Juliet. And Juliet says, ‘Alright look, should you’ve received any actual balls you must marry me now and threat all the pieces.’
“So he dangers all the pieces—his entire life, his entire household, all the pieces—and he marries this lady, which is such an honorable factor to do should you actually imagine in any person, should you imagine in love like that, particularly at that age, particularly to threat your life. It is the last word tragedy and the last word love story.”
