Coriolanus
Directed By:
Ralph Fiennes
Written By: John
Logan, based on the play by William Shakespeare
Starring: Ralph
Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Jessica Chastain, Vanessa Redgrave, James
Nesbitt, Dragan Micanovic, Lubna Azabal, and Ashraf Barhorm
Director of Photography: Barry Ackroyd, Editor: Nicolas
Gaster, Production Designer: Ricky Eyres, Original Music: Ilan Eshkeri
Rated: R for some
military violence.
Modern day Shakespeare adaptations
are a tricky business. Sometimes, they come in the form of teen comedies that
forgo the language in order to bring in a bigger (and often more pedestrian)
audience (She’s The Man; 10 Things I Hate About You). Otherwise, the
coursing of the language against a modern day setting often feels like an awkward
clash of sound and image. Where is Kenneth Branagh when you need him?
But here comes the deft directorial debut of actor Ralph Fiennes in the form of
the often forgotten but masterful Coriolanus,
an extremely bold adaptation of the Shakespeare military history. Having seen a
magnificent production of the play a couple years back, I’m always surprised
that Coriolanus never gets as much
love as it should. It’s a deeply cynical play with a number of strong complex
issues about how our military and political leaders often use and abuse their
power. Using a modern day setting but keeping certain details faithful to the
play, Fiennes and screenwriter John Logan have masterfully brought together the
political aspects of the Shakespeare’s play to a relevant audience in today’s
age of inequality.
For those who
haven’t read or seen the play, Coriolanus
will be a treat, as it packs a dense and wallop of a story. The film is set in
Rome, a one closer to a modern city than the one of ancient times, and war is
fought with assault rifles instead of swords. Fiennes plays the title
character, Caius Martius (Coriolanus is a title he is given after a crucial
battle), a bold and brutal general of Rome with little care for the people and
plenty of lust for the battlefield. When the people protest against a lack of
food, Caius stares them down and Fiennes delivers a cold speech with the same
brutal eyes he brought to Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series. Caius lives for war, most notably fighting
against the state of Antium and his bitter rival, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard
Butler).
But Caius can’t stand the political field, especially considering the pleading
of his good friend Menenius (Brian Cox) and his mother Volumnia (a commanding
Vanessa Redgrave) to become a leader of the people. When Coriolanus is pushed
to become join the counsel, he does so begrudgingly. When he must follow
tradition and asks the people to accept his rule, he bitterly mocks such a
tradition and refuses to show them his scars. But two Roman senators (James
Nesbitt and Dragan Micanovic, chewing scenery in the best way), aim to have the
people rise up against the general, using his grabbing of power as a sign of
rising totalitarianism.
Despite being 400 years old, I won’t spoil the twists of Coriolanus’s narrative, but the film turns our ideas of how
political campaigns and military campaigns can crumble and change so quickly. It’s
certainly one of Shakespeare’s more cynical plays, and Logan keeps most of the
drama intact without having to sacrificing any major details. The one part that
doesn’t necessarily work is the film’s midway twist when the senators turn the
people, which feels just a bit too quick and easy. Part of this is the modern
setting, which strips the artifice from the drama that made the turn more
believable, though part is certainly Shakespeare’s distrust and mocking of
common citizens.
The modern Roman setting works particularly well in bringing the film’s
timeless politics to fit today’s era of worldwide protests, whether in the
Middle East, Europe, or right here in downtown Manhattan. Shot by The Hurt Locker cinematographer Barry
Ackroyd, the film’s war sequences are intense and chaotic, while the language
is aptly carried by the film’s excellent cast (though watching the CNN news
casts with Shakespearean language borders on parody). Fiennes not only brings a
bold and bitter strength to the unique protagonist of the drama, but his in
adept enough to let the subtleties of Shakespeare’s language tell the story,
his visuals more noted for the below-the-line technical works on display. The
revelation, not surprisingly, is Vanessa Redgrave, who knows how to command
each word that drops from her tongue, bulging her eyes and perfectly capturing
the nuances of Volumna’s famous monologue near the end of the film.
Coriolanus may not be the greatest
Shakespeare on film, but because the play is not as well known, it’s a must see
because it brings to life one of his most underrated. Fiennes played the role
on the West End back in 2001, and since then, our political and military
landscapes have only become more and more entrenched together, our people less
trustful of government, but more susceptible to easy forms of protest that they
don’t understand. In an age of both Tea Parties and Occupy movements, Coriolanus shows us perhaps how little
power the people may truly have.
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