Quirky R-Rated Crime Comedy Retells The World’s Most Classic Romance

The narrative of Die in a Gunfight opens on the origins of a long-standing feud between families, which began with a good old-fashioned gentleman’s duel in 1864. Over several generations and more than a century later, the Rathcarts and the Gibbons have held a deep-seated contempt for each other, resulting in physical acts of violence, underhanded business dealings, and other sneaky acts of familial warfare. That is, until we meet Benjamin Gibbon and Mary Rathcart, who, much like Romeo and Juliet, have violated their respective family’s strict guidelines by falling in love with each other.

Benjamin is characterized by his disruptive behavior, which often sees him getting into fights and causing trouble, much like Mary, who has been expelled from numerous private schools. Though the two have been strictly forbidden from seeing each other, they continue their relationship in private, much to the chagrin of their parents. As the first act of Die in a Gunfight closes out however, Mary is sent to a boarding school in Paris, which allows her father to intercept all communications between her and Benjamin, without either party being aware.

Needless to say, there are plenty of differences between Die in a Gunfight and the original Romeo and Juliet, though I won’t spoil the entire narrative here. The film offers a fun and inventive twist on the well-trodden Shakespeare formula, offering a new look into the old classic. Still, reviews for the film were quite harsh, maligning Die in a Gunfight as a needless reimagining rife with toothless gimmicks and poorly developed characters.

Today, the film touts a paltry 16 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, though general audiences find the project much more favorable with a 62 percent score on the Popcornmeter.

Die in a Gunfight stars Diego Boneta and The White Lotus‘ Alexandra Daddario in the leading roles, with supporting performances by Justin Chatwin, Wade Allain-Marcus, Billy Crudup, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Travis Fimmel. The film was written by Ant-Man and the Wasp writers Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, and directed by Collin Schiffli. Before production, Die in a Gunfight spent many years in development hell, though the script was lauded by many Hollywood insiders after placing atop the 2010 Black List of best unproduced screenplays.

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The film definitely isn’t for everybody, but I found Die in a Gunfight to be a fun take on the Romeo and Juliet story, with some charismatic performances that make the project well worth watching. Those interested in catching the film can find Die in a Gunfight streaming on Amazon Prime Video via Freevee today.