Coriolanus
This is not your father’s Shakespeare.
That becomes evident almost immediately in Coriolanus, which updates one of the Bard’s more obscure tragedies into more of a contemporary political thriller.
It’s an ambitious directorial debut for Oscar-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes, who also plays the title role in a film that strikes a chord with its present-day themes of bureaucratic corruption and socioeconomic despair but ultimately fails to connect on a deeper emotional level.
The screenplay adapted by Oscar nominee John Logan (The Aviator), keeps the text from the original play almost intact while transferring the setting, which feels strained and awkward at the outset. Those who have read the source material won’t recall explosions, military sieges or cable-television pundits spouting the Elizabethan-era language.
The story is set in 21st century Rome, where Coriolanus opens the film as a military hero, having won a bloody battle against Tulius Aufidius (Gerard Butler), an enemy general who sought control of the city.
His outspoken political views aren’t popular with the working-class citizenry, which becomes a greater issue when he is urged by family members and allies to seek a high-ranking government office and needs votes to get there.
Coriolanus becomes caught in a power struggle between his own views, those of the people, and those of the potential puppet masters trying to manipulate his popularity to increase their own political clout. The result turns Coriolanus into an outcast hungry for revenge.
Fiennes has a commanding presence as Coriolanus but he lacks subtlety, which again can be traced back to the forced combination of dialogue and setting.
There are a few potent soliloquies, but in general the theatricality of the play doesn’t translate as well to the quieter, character-driven moments in the film.
As a director, Fiennes favors a washed-out color palette and stages some gritty action sequences. The pace is lively and the visual approach in compelling.
The sharp supporting cast includes a couple of fine portrayals, including Brian Cox as a duplicitous politician and Vanessa Redgrave as the fiery mother of Coriolanus.
Of course, Coriolanus is not the first attempt to transport Shakespeare’s work to a different time and place. Such efforts have achieved mixed results in the past, and this one is no different, with its good intentions offset by a frustrating emotional disconnect.
Rated R, 122 minutes.