Private Romeo is the brain child of Director Alan Brown, who uses the language of Shakespeare to tell a story about 8 young male students at a military school in Long Island. They have been left with minimal supervision, while the other students and faculty are away on a four-day land navigation training excursion. Cadets Sam (Romeo) and Glen (Juliet), played by the Seth Numrich and Matt Doyle respectively, discover young love. Though the director did not originally intend to make a political or social statement, the film's release coincided with a repeal of the "Don't ask/ Don't tell" policies of the 90s, and the gay community was overeager to make a connection between the two. This is NOT a film about gay bashing, or gays in the military. Simply, it is a story about love and friendship, youth and emotions. While the love story transpires between two boys and their friends react to it, Alan Brown made no changes in the gender specifics of Shakespeare's original text. None of the "she's" were changed to "he's", etcetera. He also made the brilliant decision to use New York theater actors, which makes for a very interesting film.
Seth Numrich is a masterful young actor with an already impressive list of accomplishments, and a promising career ahead of him. He exudes talent, and has a natural understanding of Shakespeare that combines intellect and passion. Two other performances in this film are notable. Hale Appleman's Mercutio is OUTSTANDING. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a better interpretation of that character. Kudos to the casting director for giving the part of Benvolio to Sean Hudock, who really makes that character the way I have always felt about him. Overall, the entire cast gives a wonderful rendition of this famous play.
The big disappointment about this film is Matt Doyle (Sorry Matt, if you ever happen to see this). His performance is weak and lacking in so many ways. He is unable to speak an entire line of dialogue without pausing every few words as if he's trying to remember what comes next, and has a less than sufficient understanding of basic inflection. I know. I know. This isn't a traditional performance of Romeo & Juliet; however, the interpretation and adaptation are irrelevant to Doyle's inability to give his character any credibility and substance. He simply does not have a good understanding of the language, nor the stage presence for the character of Juliet. In various interviews as well as the director's commentary, there is a lot of talk about the chemistry between Doyle and Numrich. It's there, but it is uneven. I attribute this more to Seth Numrich's talent than to Doyle's obvious off-stage boy crush on his counterpart. Perhaps this would not have been so obvious if Matt Doyle had been cast opposite someone less credible. Feeling bad about my opinion of Doyle's performance, I did a little research to find some other examples of his work. He's all over youtube, and has a decent singing voice. He seems to be a nice kid, and I hope he continues to get opportunities for growth as an actor.
THE BOTTOM LINE - Generals, grab your privates and add this movie to your collection. Overall, it's a great film, and a good example of how various parts can make a whole work. Alan Brown's use of different camera filters to distinguish between the world of the military academy and the world of Shakespeare, combined with his use of youtube-style camera shooting are only some of the wonderful extras you'll find in Private Romeo.
Happy Endings!
Matthew
P.S. It's good to be back on the blog. I've had to take a good amount of time away to work on publications...AND...I have a musical that is almost finished. Don't worry, as soon as I know the performance details, EVERYONE will know them as well.
