Home Movie Reviews Rosaline Review: Kaitlyn Dever Is A Winning Lead In Flawed Revisionist Tale

Rosaline is greatly aided by its fiery lead Kaitlyn Dever, who helps the film retain its charm even when the plot loses some of its edge.

Retellings of Shakespeare’s plays are as classic as the famed playwright himself. Whether they be a faithful adaptation of his works or a modern-day transplant, it feels there is virtually no shortage to what filmmakers can do with those iconic stories.Rosaline, director Karen Maine’s latest film, seeks to explore new ground by taking one of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays — Romeo & Juliet — and turning it on its head by focusing on a side character who isn’t shown in the original piece. The result is an initially clever story that falls into a predictable track. Rosaline is greatly aided by its fiery lead Kaitlyn Dever, who helps the film retain its charm even when the plot loses some of its edge.
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Everyone knows the story of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, who meet by chance at a ball and fall head over heels for each other despite their warring families. However, one detail that is often overlooked is that Romeo initially had his sights set on another Capulet — Rosaline (Dever), who in this story is dreaming of a life of adventure with Romeo (Kyle Allen) while dodging the potential suitors her father (Bradley Whitford) keeps throwing her way. Romeo speaks words of poetry to her and even confesses his love, which only adds to Rosaline’s dismay when he tosses her aside for the beautiful and bright-eyed Juliet (Isabela Merced). Determined to win back her man, Rosaline conspires to pull the legendary pair apart.

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Rosaline is loosely based on Rebecca Serle’s novel When You Were Mine, which, based on its description, takes a very different approach to the story. In Maine’s hands, Rosaline comes to life with a vibrant sense of self; this is a period piece more in line with Netflix’s recent Persuasion adaptation (or even Bridgerton, based on its song choices). However, rather than trying to retain some of the typical elements of the 1500s, Rosaline is essentially a modern-day story with a period backdrop and costumes. This will likely rankle some who are tired of modern-edged classics, and there is initially something jarring about Dever’s Rosaline making wise-cracks like someone on Twitter. However, when Rosaline firmly establishes its style, it sticks. There’s laughter to be had, and Dever easily wins over the audience with her wit and headstrong nature.

Rosaline isn’t an easy character to like, with her constantly scoffing at those around her and refusing to consider other people’s feelings. Her single-minded pursuit of Romeo gives the impression that she won’t care if she hurts Juliet. However, Rosaline dodges some expectations by having a sweet friendship emerge between the two girls. A simple moment by a fountain subtly hints at the importance of female bonds and seems to suggest the film will stick to it as it continues to dismantle the Romeo and Juliet story. Unfortunately, that doesn’t last very long. Screenwriters Scott Neustader and Michael H. Weber end up going the more conventional route, effectively making this revisionist tale more of a basic retelling of Romeo and Juliet from someone else’s perspective. It’s a disappointing shift, particularly since Rosaline seemed poised to explore new depths within both its title character and Juliet. That Rosaline also has a new love interest (Sean Teale’s Dario) also dulls some of the movie’s impact. While Dever and Teale have genuine sparks, their courtship is a storyline that isn’t entirely necessary.

While the plot grows more predictable, Rosaline is enhanced by Dever’s lead performance. Already an impressive talent with projects like Booksmart and Dopesick under her belt, Dever steps into leading lady territory here and proves she can handle humor, vulnerability, and a scheming wit quite well. Merced is an angelic Juliet; in her scenes with Rosaline she gets to explore the innocence of this hopeless romantic. Unfortunately, when Rosaline makes that aforementioned plot shift, her characterization falls to the wayside. Teale is suitably dashing as Dario, and Allen succeeds in making his Romeo both something of a playboy and an earnest lover. Rosaline is further enlivened by acting vets Whitford and Minnie Driver, though one wishes the latter had far more to do.

Ultimately, Rosaline isn’t quite the subversive take on Shakespeare that it wants to be, but it still is pretty fun. There’s a certain level of charm to it that is hard to ignore, and that’s largely thanks to Dever. The first half is stronger than the end, though the writers do sneak in a pointed jab at Shakespeare’s play during the credits. Those who prefer their period pieces to be more traditional will find this blasphemous, but those willing to imagine a 16th century Verona with updated characters will get a kick out of Rosaline’s antics.

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Rosaline premieres on Hulu Friday, October 14. The film is 96 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for some suggestive material and brief strong language.

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