It’s easy to take technology today for granted, with many of the things we do with it second nature. Take cyber stalking your ex, for example. There was a time when this meant the hassle of leaving your house, having to stand on street corners, trying your best to be discreet, just for a glimpse of what your ex might be up to.

Not anymore, thanks to the internet, you can stalk from the privacy of your own home, refreshing social media accounts by the minute.

So spare a poor thought for Rosaline then, who fell in love with a young man who went on to be known as part of the most talked about couple. Ever. And there wasn’t a Wi-Fi hotspot in sight.

Living in Verona, Italy, is young Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever), who is blissfully in love with a young man named Romeo (Kyle Allen). Unfortunately for the loved-up pair, they have to keep their relationship on the down-low, because of a bitter feud between their families, with Rosaline being a Capulet, and Romeo a Montague.

They agree to meet at a ball, and being it’s masked, they can behave as young lovers do in public. But Rosaline gets sidetracked, and doesn’t make the date. Which is unfortunate as Romeo meets another young woman there, Juliet (Isabel Merced), who just so happens to be her cousin.

The pair end up falling in love, which doesn’t go down well at all with Rosaline, who decides that there’s only one thing for her to do – break them up. But can she destroy the most powerful force on the planet – love?

Director Karen Maine’s follow up to her 2019 debut Yes, God, Yes is utterly adorable. Taken from the premise of Rebecca Serle’s book When You Were Mine, it follows the story of Rosaline, Romeo’s ex and a minor role in Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet, and tells her story, magnificently.

Whereas the main story is one of the greatest tragic tales ever told, Rosaline puts a welcome spin on things by turning it into a highly amusing rom-com. Yes it’s a tale of young love, but it should be her story damnit, not Juliet’s.

Shakespeare would surely be proud, as it laces Rosaline’s narrative with revenge, and doth nothing sweeter than that. And he may well chuckle that the whole thing has been transformed into an all out teen comedy, albeit one set back in the day.

Dever is divine as Rosaline, as she plots to get her man Romeo back. And Brit Sean Teale impresses as her accomplice Dario, who initially is brought in as a possible suitor, who she then ropes in to help her with her plans. The pair, much like the film itself, are suitably playful, with a nice onscreen chemistry slowly simmering between them.

The use of modern artists on the soundtrack is a nice touch too, acting as reminder of the film’s rom-com credentials.

It’s a smart premise, executed with a deft touch, with a warmth and charming familiarity to it that makes it a pleasure from beginning to end. For never was a story of more joyous time, than this of Romeo and his ex Rosaline.