Baz Luhrmann's 1996 Romeo + Juliet is a modern adaptation packed with symbolism, metaphors and visual imagery. But one element of the film that’s always stuck with me? His use of water throughout the film.

We meet the Montague boys before we even meet our leading guy. Now, trust me, the actual use of water stuff is coming, but hear me out. The uniform for a Montague boy is a short haircut, dress pants and bright, colorful Hawaiian shirts, all worn unbuttoned to show off their chests. Not directly water as of yet, but Baz is already using costume to associate our minds with water, this beach vibe continues as we meet our aforementioned Romeo.

Our first look at Romeo, also introduces us to Verona, or at least where the Montagues hang out: the local beach esplanade. Fast forwarding to one of the final scenes, this first glance is quite the stark contrast to the climatic ending – with Romeo and Tybalt chasing each other through the streets, rain belting down on them. Romeo’s once crisp white shirt, soaked from the rain, his own blood and grief – as he shoots Tybalt, who falls back into a water fountain. In this moment, the camera starts to zoom out, where we see not only these two, but the whole city attempting to be washed of its sins.

Often as night falls so does the rain, but water is always close – following the characters everywhere. The first time we see Romeo he's at the beach. During a pivotal fight scene, as Mercutio dies on the beach, in his last breath he announces a foreboding fate,  “a plague on both your houses!” — as lightning and thunder crack from the sky.

The first time we meet Juliet she's in her bathtub, already surrounded, underwater.

At the infamous Capulet party, Romeo sneaks away to the bathroom to wash his face. As he takes off his costume piece, the camera gives us a close up of the mask floating in the basin, as he looks out to peer into the fish tank. This is where we first see the titular lovers together.

When Romeo and Juliet first meet, they are quite literally separated by a wall of water, before she is whisked away. Again, as the night wraps up, Romeo, plagued with the discovery of Juliet, can't help himself but to get one last look at the Capulet girl. 

When he finds her, Juliet is talking about Romeo beside her pool. Shocked by his presence, they both fall in and announce their longing for one another, all while being encapsulated in the water. Juliet goes to climb out; however, Romeo takes this moment to propose – the camera follows them under, where we see them share a kiss. It’s here that Luhrmann freezes the frame; the Montague boy and Capulet girl suspended underwater in embrace. We see this frame again at the very end.

It’s hard not to correlate the consistent use of water throughout the film; the bath, the rain, the beach, the pools – as a way of illustrating to us, the audience, the uncleanliness of Verona. A city that is so tainted, as it desperately attempts to wash away all of its sins – again and again.

Another theory I have is the take on the known phrase, ‘blood is thicker than water.’ However, if we look at the origin of this, we can see the meaning has many iterations. Over time, as language often works, the term has morphed and changed its meaning – many soldiers took the meaning as ‘the blood you spill in battle is the closest to you,’ or alternatively, in 12th Century Germany it had been said that kin blood ‘is not spoiled water’.

Something else to consider, the original version of our famous quote subverts the traditional understanding, in full it is ‘blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb.’ – which means that the bonds you’ve chosen are more significant than those formed by familial or blood relations. The connection is obvious. Romeo and Juliet choose each other, and not their families.

In the closing scene, the death of Romeo and Juliet, the camera pans out as Luhrmann gives us the final image once again – two star-crossed lovers, not in death, but underwater in embrace. 

I rated this film 4/5 stars ​​⋆｡°✩

★★★★☆