Scene Analysis of the Aquarium Scene of Romeo and Juliet in the Luhrmann\'s Film

¶ … Romeo & Juliet

Baz Luhrmann is an accomplished and visionary director. His 1996 rendition of the 16th century Shakespearean play, "Romeo & Juliet," is certainly a part of his accomplishments as well as his overall body of work. The scene of focus for the purposes of this paper is Act I Scene V, which is the scene of the title characters' first meeting. Over the course of the entire film, Romeo & Juliet are visually bound to imagery and expressions of water. As the narrative progresses, the types of water they are visually associated with grow in scale. In their first meeting, they see each other through a fish tank that resembles the ocean. Later in the narrative, the balcony scene takes place with proximity and then in a swimming pool. Even later in the film, they are associated with the beach and actual ocean.

Overall, water is a symbol for their love. As their love grows, the bodies of water that represent their love within the context of the film grow as well. The water can be both a place of life and a place of death. "Romeo & Juliet" is such a famous play that it is nearly common knowledge; therefore, even before viewing, most viewers know that they will die by the conclusion of the film. This kind of foreknowledge, reinforced visually and thematically with bodies of water and the title characters, Luhrmann demonstrates his acuity and depth as the creative force of this particular incarnation of the timeless classic play.

Act I Scene V takes place in a very posh party. Romeo is dressed in modernized, hip costume that references 16th century garb. Juliet is dressed as an angel or fairy, heightening the ethereal quality of their love, of her character, and of the atmosphere when they are together, alone. They see each other as they stand on opposite sides of an aquarium. The aquarium has exotic fish.

Behind the scenes documentary information reveals that Luhrmann chose to use the aquarium as the main source of light, choosing to strap lights on the aquarium to make the tank seem like it was glowing, almost glowing with life. He tried to make the water glow with life and when these star-crossed lovers saw each other through this light, through this symbol of life, the water would in a way help give birth to their love. The future iterations of their connection to water support this choice in lighting and visual theme. Physically and metaphorically, Romeo & Juliet are so close, yet so far apart. If we think of the aquarium as a metaphor for the sea and ocean, then while they can see each other because of the transparency of the water, they are still infinitely a part because of their social obligations, familial positions, and general politics that keep them from being in love openly.