Portrayal

Mercutio

  When you first think of Mercutio I severely doubt the first thing that pops into your head is the image of a black man in a white dress singing like a woman, well apparently Baz Luhrmann (the movie’s director) thinks differently. With a fantastic attitude and an over the top characterization, Mercutio may seem as nothing more than a simple comic relief to the movie. The previous statement is awfully wrong. Taking into consideration the tone of the film, Mercutio is one of the best-portrayed characters from the play.

  Firstly, in the book, readers can effortlessly identify with Mercutio. The whole play was written like 400 years ago and it can feel a bit old, this does not happen with Mercutio, which makes it easier for any person from this millennium to make him their favourite character. Mercutio’s attitude is all about having fun and living life on the edge. Mercutio acts impulsively not really thinking about the consequences of his next mischief. He enjoys causing trouble and teasing people, taking pleasure in confusing the mind and playing with everyone’s feelings, a delight that ultimately gets him killed. Mercutio is also a straightforward character. His actions are simple (dying does not count in this argument and yet if you think about it, that is pretty simple too). The cost of said actions are the trigger for all the bad things that happen, which is not something you would expect from inviting a friend to a party, for example. 

  Secondly, in the movie, we see the same Mercutio from the book with minor changes per say. The film is generally weird to say the least about it. With a strange use of the language lots of actions seem incoherent but are superbly assembled to fit into the original play. The mood of the film is almost satiric and cannot be taken seriously the whole time. The first time you see Mercutio dressed as a woman (prostitute I think) your reaction is to laugh, a lot. From the tattooed “Fray” (a priest from this times) to the fact that every single gun in the movie has the name of a type of sword or archaic weapon, you feel there is a punch line coming right at you from the very beginning of the movie. All this elements make Mercutio’s portrayal sublime. The reason for this is that with such an extravagant and energetic film nothing less than what is delivered could be expected from the most vigorous character from the book.

  Lastly, Mercutio has many of the virtues (and flaws) people like to observe or read about. He has wit, creativity, and a tremendous lack of common sense, traits that make him irresistible to the usual reader. In the movie, we see Mercutio as crazy as he can get, keeping his attitude from the play only represented in a world a thousand times wilder. Mercutio’s lifestyle is a passionate rollercoaster of emotions that when represented on a screen, sets free a fantastic and unique character. In the short time he manages to survive he shows a world of feelings like no other character in the movie or play. Mercutio is a gleeful man and through its depiction he proves that to the audience, for as he dies his attitude remains the same. Mercutio leaves with a smile on his face, something untold in the book and nevertheless portrayed the way everyone (at least me) imagined.

  It is not an easy task to reveal a character from a book or play the way people want it to be in the film, but Mercutio exceeds everyone’s expectations with the movie. The over the top attitude, sarcastic smirk, and even the dress, add to create a character like no other was ever exposed before. For this reasons (stated in this perfect simple-five-paragraph essay, thank you) I think Mercutio is one of the best-portrayed characters from the play.