53
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisMuch better to focus on the tempestuous Mercutio (Hale Appleman, a standout), whose increasing volatility forms the perfect counterpoint to Mr. Doyle's beaming Juliet and Seth Numrich's sensitive Romeo. Punctuated by eerily static shots of empty basketball courts and deserted hallways, Mercutio's blustering menace is as timeless as the romance he seeks to derail.
- 75ObserverRex ReedObserverRex ReedNo contemporary film that promotes love instead of war should be overlooked. Private Romeo will undoubtedly be regarded by some as a curio, but it's a sweet, sympathetic and surprising one, highly recommended to the adventurous spirit in an enlightened and changing world.
- 70VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibSticking closely to the written text (with basketballs and barbells supplying incidental props) and wisely not attempting to reimagine the specific circumstances that separate the lovers, a dynamite ensemble cast of young actors invests the Bard's poetry with energetic immediacy.
- 40Village VoiceVillage VoiceThe hunky ensemble shares a fine chemistry, but Brown's stylistic choices lie somewhere between perverse and nonsensical.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierUnfortunately, "modern" additions (like the soldiers' YouTube videos and some social media moments) feel clunky, and a necessarily shortened approach trips the movie up, though leads Matt Doyle and Seth Numrich - accomplished Broadway actors - are intense, engaged and appropriately tragic.
- 38Slant MagazineDiego SemereneSlant MagazineDiego SemerenePrivate Romeo feels more like a side project from the producers of Glee than some kind of novel queering of Shakespeare's text.
- 25New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithHow cheap-looking is the modern-day romantic tragedy Private Romeo? Take a couple of friends to see it, and the amount you spend may exceed the amount the filmmakers did.