Film Review – Rosaline

The saga of “Romeo and Juliet” is detailed from a different point of view in “Rosaline.” Inspired by the book “While You Were Mine,” by Rebecca Serle, the picture hunts for a way to recycle the central heartbreak of the Shakespeare play without losing younger viewers. Screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber hope to hip up the particulars of the source material with a wry sense of humor, charting the development of love and jealousy among teenagers, trying to make such ancient woes a little more urgent for a modern audience. Director Karen Maine does what she can to make known story beats feel a bit bouncier, taking cues from Sophia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” and Brian Helgeland’s “A Knight’s Tale” to jazz up “Rosaline,” offering a pop take on a famous tragedy. It certainly helps to have actress Kaitlyn Dever in the driver’s seat, delivering spirited work as the eponymous character, always finding ways to become the best parts of the feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com