Coriolanus

Any film adaptation of a Shakespeare work where the original dialogue has been kept intact is tricky to review. The simple reason being that are you not just mainly reviewing the source novel as opposed to the actual film? Ten Things I Hate About You this ain’t. I think it’s fair to say though that Coriolanus isn’t high in the conscious of the man on the street when it comes to the Bard’s works. Is this its selling point though? It also extends to aiding any new comers by having a modern day setting and some Bourne-esque style action sequences. Plus, this is also the directorial debut of a certain Mr Ralph Fiennes and that’s a fairly intriguing prospect. A brief summation of the story is that Coriolanus (Fiennes), a popular soldier and hero of Rome, soon finds that his stubborn views mean he is banished from The Eternal City. Can he find redemption or does he want revenge? Fiennes has played Coriolanus on stage before so perhaps its not much of a surprise that this was his choice when it came to saying “Action” for the first time. You could also argue though that he’s played it a bit too safe as the screenplay is basically already there and he wouldn’t have needed much rehearsing for his role. That aside, this is still pretty decent. Fiennes does little with the camera, but the story is clear to follow, even if you don’t have an ear for Shakespeare’s prose. Speaking of that it’s a bit of a mixture of performances on the delivery front with old stagers Vanessa Redgrave and Brian Cox sounding natural in their speech, whereas the younger members of the cast (such as Gerard Butler and Jessica Chastain) don’t look quite as comfortable. Filmed in Belgrade on a small budget Fiennes does his best with what he’s got, but the film still has a cheap looking feel to it. So, Fiennes is on his way as a director. Wonder where he’ll be on that front in ten years or so?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Obviously this won’t be setting any box office records, but this should have curiosity factor for both Shakespearean veterans and newbies alike. Rating: 6/10.