From Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet to 2000's Romeo Must Die, there are dozens of interpretations of William Shakespeare's 16th-century tragedy in cinema. From animated features to loosely based interpretations like West Side Story, the narrative of the star-crossed lovers from warring families is not unfamiliar. However, in his modern retelling, Carey Williams' R#J is unlike anything seen before in cinema.
When the film first opens, the camera pans to what appears to be a picturesque beach in Verona. However, the audience soon realizes that instead of landscape, this is the background of a cell phone screen. R#J then introduces Romeo (Camaron Engels), a seemingly happy-go-lucky young man with bright brown skin. Though we see glimpses of his face through his Instagram feed, his personality is unveiled through his DMs, Spotify playlists, and likes. His world expands when we finally see him on-screen, this time through a FaceTime video between himself and his best friends Benvolio (RJ Cyler) and Mercutio (Siddiq Saunderson).
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