Rosaline releases on October 24, 2022 on Hulu in the US and Disney+ internationally.
Rosaline is a charming, funny, and fresh retelling of the tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 14th century. But what makes Rosaline different is that the story is told from the perspective of the eponymous character.
Rosaline is Romeo’s little-talked-about ex. Before he meets Juliet, Romeo falls for Rosaline, who is Juliet’s cousin. She is also mentioned in Shakespeare’s play, but is never seen. Karen Maine’s expedition to adapt Rebecca Serle’s modern-day retelling of the story in her 2012 novel When You Were Mine ends up with a film on an important but unseen character that ticks all the boxes as a different, funny, and most importantly, entertaining adaptation of the classic love story.
The story begins with Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever) and Romeo (Kyle Allen) who are in love but have to remain secretive as they are both from feuding families. As Romeo sees that his lover is unable to reciprocate his feelings, he ends up falling for Rosaline’s cousin, Juliet (Isabela Merced). He begins to pursue her, and as Rosaline gets wind of this, she tries to foil their plans of getting together and win back her lover.
We all know how the story of the two lovers end. In the play, Rosaline is a plot device that leads Romeo to Juliet. This is used in the film as well, in such a clever way that you forget about the couple and root for Rosaline. She wants to be an independent woman and does not care for arranged marriages, but her father Frair Laurence (Bradley Whitford) thinks it’s time for her to get married and give up on her aspirations to become a cartographer.
Dever is relatable, quick-witted and carries the entire film. That’s not to say that the rest of the cast is not good. For the little time that she appears on the screen, Janet the Nurse (Minnie Driver) who is Rosaline’s confidante, wins you over quickly with her performance. Her delivery as a humorous character lands perfectly.
Rosaline’s best friend Paris (Spencer Stevenson) is also another character that I liked watching. He gives a very friendly and trustworthy aura, which makes you want to be his best friend. Stevenson’s chemistry with Dever made me believe that the two really are besties in real life.
While Allen’s performance as Romeo was not bad, his character was “just there”. The same is for Juliet (Isabela Merced). Their characters didn’t shine through much as they seemed to be sidelined with all the focus on Rosaline, which I am fine with. Rosaline finds an unexpected friend in Dario (Sean Teale), who gets introduced to her as a potential suitor, but is quickly rejected by her. His character, too, gets outshined by Rosaline.