Review No.88: Coriolanus

After an alien-splattering franchise piece something a bit more cultural now as we look at Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut as he also stars in an adaptation of the Shakespeare play Coriolanus. Interestingly this is the first time the play has come to the cinema as it has been seen as notoriously hard to adapt however Fiennes' vision sees the setting of Rome become an Eastern European state making the battles reminiscent of those fought in the former Yugoslavia and as the film is shot in Serbia it certainly gives this effect. Fiennes also stars in the lead role of military man Caius Martius who after being successful in battle is taken on as the new hero of the people and is given the name of Coriolanus. Fiennes uses the modern day press to demonstrate how much the media affects our view of the world even getting in Channel 4's very own Jon Snow to act as a political commentator on the local news channel. While Coriolanus is bought in by the manipulative craven tribunes his inability to stay quiet on the big issues sees them try to overthrow him and paint him as a traitor. As he becomes an outcast he decides to try and make peace with his former enemy Tullus who is also leader of the rebel army thus becoming an enemy of Rome. Though this is where the story should end it is Caius' mother, played by the brilliant Vanessa Redgrave, who tries to get him to return from the wilderness using his wife and son as leverage. As he is torn between two sides Coriolanus must decide which side of the fence he stands on and whether it is too late to go back to one particular life.

From a filmic point-of-view Coriolanus drags you straight into the action with images of the disgruntled Roman population trying to rise up against the army only to be stopped by the riot police. The Serbian backdrop means that the camera can focus on graffiti that signifies the conflict that happened there in the 1990s as well as some of the buildings that have obviously been destroyed by gunfire. Cinematographer Barry Akroyd is used to capturing these scenes of war well as he worked on The Hurt Locker as well as the more recent Green Zone with his shaky camera work really playing into the story. As I previously mentioned the use of the media, and Mr Jon Snow, works in this story of the soldier who struggles to become a politician with the constant use of the TV news network which reminds us of the conflicts we see every day during the daily bulletins. As far as acting goes Fiennes is incredible as the intimidating Coriolanus often wearing nothing but a scowl on his face which is used to paint a picture throughout the film especially when his head is shaved in a later scene. I also thought Redgrave and Brian Cox were both great the former in particular as Fiennes' mother excelled at playing one of Shakespeare's loving yet sly women though she might not be quite in the league of Lady Macbeth. I thought that Butler had little to do while Jessica Chastain was also ill-served in the role of Fiennes' wife. Though everything looked spectacular and the cast on the whole were great I had trouble connecting with the characters so I didn't really care about any of their ultimate fates. I don't think it's the Shakespearian language because, as an English scholar, I'm pretty accustomed to it I felt it was more to do with the lack of emotion that a lot of these characters display which may have been the reason that this play has never been adapted up to this point.

Verdict: A visually captivating directorial debut from Fiennes who also gives a great performance however the fact that I didn't really connect with any of the characters means I can only give this an 8/10