The film feels rushed with fast cuts from scene to scene, and though they do add to the rapidly-escalating four-day love story, they take away from some iconic moments. In fact, her words are watered-down and almost too casual in comparison to Booth’s passionate dialogue. Known for articulate delivery in “True Grit,” she unfortunately does not deliver the old English poetry as fluidly this time. Steinfeld seems too young for Booth (though this might be due to their four-year age difference), and her portrayal of Juliet is actually underwhelming. While they share kiss after kiss, their chemistry is almost too juvenile not quite the budding, adolescent love that Shakespeare envisioned.

The two make for a handsome couple-Booth has Romeo’s romantic good looks (not to mention his pillowy lips and chiseled jaw) and Steinfeld has Juliet’s innocent beauty-but this is not enough to carry the movie. The film is set in Renaissance Verona, Italy, and Douglas Booth (“Great Expectations,” “LOL”) stars as the handsome Romeo Montague with Hailee Steinfeld (“True Grit”) as his star-crossed lover Juliet Capulet. And with so many remakes already, I expected something new from Carlo Carlei’s recent 2013 adaptation. William Shakespeare’s classic love tragedy has seen various cinematic adaptations, from Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 classic with Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey to Baz Luhrrman’s modernized 1996 version with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. OctoSTAR-CROSSED LOVERS Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld play Romeo and Juliet in the 2013 adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic love story.

Romeo and juliet 2013