These Violent Delights film review: Astounding, triumphant choreography
Scottish Ballet’s reimagining of Romeo & Juliet proves to be a stunning, thoroughly modern success
Anyone fooled by the notion that ballet is a dying art with no future, should take a seat in front of These Violent Delights, a dance film born out of a centuries-old story, but firmly rooted in the present day. Scottish Ballet has built an impressive repertoire of short filmic works in recent years, but nothing could have prepared us for this 70-minute, octane-fuelled ride. Although inspired by Shakespeare’s tragic protagonists, Romeo and Juliet, this is very much her story. Kayla-Maree Tarantolo plays a Juliet for the 21st century, in costume and attitude, imbuing the role with youthful confusion, curiosity, hot desire, and a sense of fun.
All the characters, from the buttoned-up Lady Capulet to wide-boy Tybalt, lovesick Romeo to the boisterous Mercutio and Benvolio (and everyone in between), are finely drawn and danced. Nobody feels two-dimensional, regardless of how brief their screen time. And, surprisingly, given that no less than six choreographers are credited with the work, the movement blends together seamlessly. Whether the dancers are performing a contemplative solo, silently arguing at breakfast, killing each other, or falling in love, each step feels like a natural progression.
The stunningly opulent worlds of the Montagues and Capulets created by production designer Sami Fendall are the gift that keeps on giving. Until they don’t, but for all the right reasons. When we head out into clubland, at the wonderfully scuzzy warehouse home of cabaret artiste Violent Delight, all the rich trimmings fall away. Here, the costumes are ramped up instead, as the newly framed Friar Laurence (supplier of catwalk sass and hallucinatory drugs) leaves Shakespeare far behind.
Quite what kind of fever dream co-directors Oscar Samson and Christopher Hampson woke from to create the film’s overall vision is anyone’s guess. But it quickly becomes clear that whatever you assume is going to happen next almost certainly doesn’t. An opened door never leads where you think it will, fast edits regularly transport us between imagination and reality, and there’s just enough ambiguity to keep us guessing as we leave the cinema. A triumphant adventure that secures Scottish Ballet’s place at the very cutting edge of exciting, innovative, yet wholly accessible dance and film.
These Violent Delights, Cameo, 15 August, noon; Filmhouse, 15 August, 3pm; in cinemas from 26 October.