Rosaline Review

There have been many versions of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet put to screen. There have been classic interpretations (Romeo and Juliet – 1968), modernisations (Romeo and Juliet – 1996), and films inspired by the classic text (West Side Story). Rosaline aims to show the story through the viewpoint of Juliet’s cousin.

Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever) is a Capulet in love with Romeo, a member of her family’s rivals. The pair have a secret relationship, but there are complications for Rosaline since her father (Bradley Whitford) wants to marry her off before she’s too old, and Romeo falls for Rosaline’s cousin, Juliet (Isabela Merced). Rosaline sets out to end this relationship and reclaim her man.

Rosaline was one of many victims of the great Disney+ purge. It was released in October 2022 and is being pulled from Disney+ and Hulu in May 2023. That means it has only been available for seven months for audiences to watch it legitimately. Yet I am reviewing it anyway in the hopes that it could be re-released in the future in another form, whether it’s a physical or digital release, being licensed out to another service or put on rotation by Disney+. Resourceful people could find alternative means to view the film to spite Disney.

I was interested in Rosaline because its lead actress. Kaitlyn Dever is a rising star who has shown her talents in films and shows like Short Term 12, Unbelievable, and Booksmart. With Rosaline she acted as an executive producer, similar to Joey King starring in and executive producing another victim of the Disney+ Purge, The Princess. Rosaline had all the makings to be a hit since Isabela Merced is also a rising star, respected actors like Whitford and Minnie Driver were in supporting roles, Karen Maine is seen as an emerging director, and the screenplay was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the writers of films like (500) Days of Summer, The Faults in Our Stars, and Paper Towns.

Rosaline felt like it was meant to be a theatrical release before Disney in their infinite wisdom to make it a short-lived streaming exclusive. It had some star power, seemed like it was made on a reasonable budget so could have made a decent profit, and there were aspects that felt more fitting for a theatrical film like the credits and the mid-credit gag scene.

Rosaline was a film that can appeal to tween and teenage girls. In the UK Disney gave the film a 16+ rating, but if it was a cinematic release, it probably would have to be rated 12A, or PG-13 in the US. The violence was filmed with a PG-13 rating in mind, there was one F-bomb and most jokes were in PG-13 territory.  However, Rosaline did also have the air of a CW show because it focused on young, good-looking characters who were dealing with their romantic issues. Despite it being set in 16^th Century Verona, the characters spoke like modern Americans and Rosaline had modern ideals. She was a strong, independent woman who didn’t want gender norms to define her role in society. This modern humour was a mixed bag. There were jokes I chuckled at like Rosaline listening to a rendition of “All by Myself” and Minnie Driver was on form, but other jokes do fall flat, to put it nicely.

Rosaline’s attitude and viewpoint stands in contrast to her actions regarding Romeo. She was desperate to get her man back and willing to anything to get him back. She acted like a lovesick schoolgirl who liked Romeo because he was a pretty boy who said romantic things. The character of Dario (Sean Teale) even called Rosaline out and questioned why Rosaline wanted to get back together with him. Young love is dumb. At times it seemed like Rosaline only wanted to be with Romeo so she could spite her father.

Rosaline was a bit of a bitch to some of the people around her. Sometimes it was justified like when her father tries to match her up with much older men, but other times she’s just plain nasty. At least Rosaline was counterbalanced with Dario who could see through her bullshit, and Juliet who was a kind and decent person who was oblivious to Rosaline’s sabotage. It also helped that Dever was such a great performer that she made the character engaging and she worked well with Merced. The scene where Juliet tells Rosaline she planned to fake her own death was one of the funniest moments in film.

Rosaline was at its best when it showed Rosaline’s story merging with the play we know. Rosaline inadvertently set off the events of the play, like going out on a date which meant missing the masquerade ball.  Romeo ends up meeting Juliet, and Rosaline suggests an arranged marriage between Juliet and Paris. This recontextualization of Romeo and Juliet showed that Rosaline had a creative spark.

Rosaline was a middle-of-the-road offering that had some invention because of its reinterpretation of Romeo and Juliet. The comedy was mixed, yet Dever and Merced were able to elevate the film.