Coriolanus (2011) (Saturday, January 21, 2012) (142)

Coriolanus is Ralph Fiennes' modern interpretation of the Shakespeare Roman play. Adapted by playwright-cum-screenwriter John Logan, the film is set in our contemporary world, where "Rome" is a contemporary country at war with an invading force from Volsci. On its surface, Roman looks much like any Western superpower of today: they drive Mercedes-Benzes, they watch 24-hour news channels, they get into bitter political and diplomatic debates. The Roman general, Caius Martius (Fiennes) fights a protracted battle against the Volscian leader, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler), and when he comes back after the victory he becomes a national superstar.

Renamed Coliolanus, after the town of Corioles where the battle took place, he quickly becomes a bright political star. The problem is that he's very conservative and doesn't believe people who don't serve in the military should be entitled to food and power. Rome is in the midst of major protests from the poor (very similar to what one might see on the television today with any Occupy rally in the world) and Coriolanus takes a rigid and extreme position.

Just as he is about to win more political power, he is ousted from the Senate and banished from Rome. With nowhere else to go, and with his mother (Vanessa Redgrave) and wife (Jessica Chastain - her 6th supporting role of 2011) working to restore his power behind the scenes, he joins his once-enemy Aufidius to try and retake control of Rome.

This is Fiennes' directorial debut and he does a really good job with it. The leap of a Roman play taking place in our contemporary world totally works and looks great. Cleverly Fiennes sets up transitions as small news segments on cable news, so the story flows easily without confusion and naturally inside the world we see. Rome is filled with a diverse group of people from around the world, with John Kani, a South African actor, playing Cominus, the head of the Senate. All of this gives the sense that Rome is a powerful and far-flung empire filled with people from all around the world who speak in many different accents (much as it must have been, of course).

I am particularly interested in how straightforward the story is (with not many story elements cut from the play) compared with other tragedies and Roman works. The characters' motivations are all very clear and interesting, and Coriolanus' own vengeance, even in the face of his mother, wife and son, is fascinating. This is very good movie and one that works very well as an adaptation. Clearly Fiennes knows what he's doing behind a camera and I look forward to seeing more from him.

Stars: 3 of 4