Cast: Gerard Butler, Ralph Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Chastain, Brian Cox, Dragon Miconovic

Director: Ralph Fiennes

Rating: 3/5

Fiennes brings Shakespear’s Coriolanus alive

By Priyanka Ketkar

"Though thou speak'st truth,

Methinks thou speak'st not well. How long is't since?"

Or,

"At a few drops of women's rheum, which are

As Cheap as lies, he sold the blood and labour of our great action; therefore shall he die."

Never in your dreams would you have imagined that such language can be heard again and that too in a movie made in this very age. Yes, Coriolanus directed by Ralph Fiennes, starts-off with such speech and you are left dumbfounded. For all those who are not aware, let me tell you that the movie is based on the play "Coriolanus" by William Shakespeare.

The entire movie is a word-to-word copy of the play but the magic of the play cannot be recreated in the form of a movie, it at least hasn't been that successful in this case.

The story is about Caius Martius Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes), a decorated soldier, who despises the "common-ness" of the common man and yet is destined to serve those very people. After having served his country and after having proven his patriotism towards his beloved Rome, his friend Menenius (Brian Cox) and his mother Volumnia (Vanessa Redgrave) wish for him to run for Consul. But he is no man's friend. People despise him as much as he, them. His hatred, his treatment towards the people infuriates them so much that they make him go into exile. In spite of being an honest, capable man and a complete devotee of Rome, the fact that he is labeled as a "traitor" makes him seek revenge. Now he wants no more than make the people of Rome suffer for their deeds.

Enemies' enemy is your friend... And that is the last resort left with Martius. He joins hands with his sworn enemy Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler). But after all, Martius is a man struck with misfortune. He is doomed to be neither on this side of the river nor on the other safer side... He is doomed to be left hanging mid-way forever. Some shocking turn of events changes this man of honour into the one, whom he initially loathed.

For those who have read this play, the movie is no surprise except for a few roles here and there. For example, Valeria's role is completely diluted and Menenius replaces her parts in the film. Also, as per the play Menenius sticks around till the end whereas in the film, well, that is a shock and I won't tell you and make this review a spoiler.

In terms of acting, the movie is sheer brilliance. Ralph Fiennes is mind-blowing. He is so convincing that you actually feel his misery, his pain, in spite of his coldness. Vanessa Redgrave is equally powerful and so is Brian Cox. Jessica Chastain is beautiful and apt for the role but she doesn't have much scope to prove her talent. Still, after doing a significant "blonde" role in The Help, she has again shone here. Dragon Miconovic as Titus Lartius has barely any role yet, he leaves his mark. Gerard Butler is not at all convincing as the ferocious Tullus Aufidius. Like he says, "I seem'd his follower, not partner; and He wag'd me with his countenance as if I had been mercenary" he actually looks like a follower than a leader of a terror-group.

Coriolanus is a long movie but it has still not been able to cover a few events mentioned in the play yet, it doesn't seem to be incomplete or too long and unending. The movie is such that one can get confused as to who exactly is the hero, who is the good guy. In fact, it actually shows us that beneath every bad person, is a good person (Aufidius) and beneath every noble person there is an evil person (Martius). In a way, the movie is compact (considering the size of the play) and still manages to convey everything without losing out on anything crucial.

The dialogues are the exact same ones as in the play and hence the Shakespearian English will prove to be difficult for the audiences to grasp quickly. Also, one funny discrepancy is that you think this is the old-age because of the usage of Shakespearian English, but surprisingly, Martius uses a laptop and makes a video call to speak with Titus Lartius (Dragan Miconovic). Except this minor glitch, the movie appears to be near-perfect.

Even though the regular movie-goers will find it difficult to digest this film, the art-movie lovers will savor it. Personally, I would've preferred to watch the play rather than the movie; nevertheless, it is a wonderful experience.