One of Shakespeare's lesser known plays (I had never read/seen it and had no idea of the plot going in) Coriolanus was brought to life by Ralph Fiennes both in front of and behind the camera. Bringing the Bard's words to a modern-day setting, filmed in war-scorched Serbian towns, Coriolanus is a popular soldier who grudgingly becomes consul in Rome, but his reluctance to adhere to the requirements of the role lead to his ousting at the hands of the people.
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Seeing an unknown Shakespeare production without prior knowledge of the characters and plot can be a risky affair, especially when the original language is retained. Thankfully, Coriolanus was pretty easy to follow, helped in no small part by the use of on-screen captions, the news-reader (Jon Snow!) commentators/chorus and the present-day settings. Fiennes gives the production a visceral, muscular look and feel, the camera rarely staying still. The dialogue seems to be stripped back to the bare essentials too, with only a few scenes of speechifying, and none of the exposition/solliloquy of Hamlet or King Lear. The cast are uniformly excellent, from gruff Gerard Butler, Coriolanus' on-again-off-again enemy/ally; Brian Cox's manipulative Menenius, who's final scene is devastating; and the sheer force of nature that is Vanessa Redgrave's Volumnia, our hero's mother. She's a really strong character, of Lady Macbeth proportions, in a sea of masculine power. It could have been easy for the character of Coriolanus to be unlikable - he's surly, never gives a reason for his reluctance to serve the people and is quick to anger - yet Fiennes makes us care for him while leaving motives open to interpretation. This is a film that I found myself discussing long after we'd left the cinema. It is a very powerful piece of cinema. The more I think about it the more I like it, from the music, the camera work and the direction to the story and cast. Brilliant.
briefly...
A stunning Shakespearean drama that delivers action, drama and spectacle, I don't expect to see another thriller this year that will match the impact of Coriolanus.
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