Rosaline

Who did Romeo (Kyle Allen) love before Juliet (Isabela Merced)? That's the question Rosaline answers by casting Kaitlyn Dever in the title role as the Romeo's ex who he unceremoniously dumps after meeting Juliet at a masquerade ball. Adding some modern dialogue and sensibilities, Rosaline has fun with some of the goofier aspects of Shakespeare's play while also blending in some Taming of the Shrew vibes for out titular character.

Dever is here to carry the film as a character who has more going on than just jealousy as the script also takes jabs at the expected roles of women during the time period. The supporting cast includes Minnie Driver as Rosaline's nurse, Bradley Whitford in a fun role as Rosaline's father, and Sean Teale as a contentious potential suitor who Rosaline trades barbs with before making an important revelation keeping to the film's romcom themes.

Knowing the story of Romeo and Juliet, screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber play on the popular idea of giving us a tale we know but from a different perspective. Despite even Rosaline eventually giving up her machinations to win him back and coming to the revelation that Romeo belongs with Juliet, Rosaline is still the one we're rooting for to find her own happy ending which is a credit both to the script and to Dever's frazzled yet determined performance of a character who could have been nothing more than the victim of circumstances but instead learns and grows over the course of a film, managing to teach others a few things as well.

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• Title: Rosaline
• IMDb: link