What's better than beautiful, flowing, passionate language? I'm not simply posing this as a cliche, the kind people use to express that they like something a lot, because to me there really is nothing better. Better than well choreographed dance or bombastic explosions, a new iPhone or the smell of coffee brewing. Hearing or reading some spectacular wordsmanship is to me utter bliss. The eternal master of speech is of course Shakespeare. From the romantic soliloquy's of Romeo to the furious posturing of Othello, it's wonderful to hear. Being long gone however, it's rare we get to hear anything new from the long departed bard and so instead what we get are new interpretations of Romeo & Juliet where Juliet is a cheerleader for 'The Chi-Town Crickets', the rival team of Romeo's 'The Crunk Tigers', but love finds a way. Ralph Fiennes has decided to ditch this trend for his directorial debut, instead hoping to revitalize a lost and disliked work. Forgotten gem or buried for a reason?
Ralph Finnes is Cauis Martius Coriolanus, a hero of Rome who, with his unrelenting fury and hatred of most people, has lead many unlikely victories. The people of Rome can't however see past his douchebaggery and get pretty sick of his very unsociable attitude and decide he should be banished for no reason other than he's been a bit rude to them. Naturally the banished Coriolanus is more than a bit miffed at his expulsion from the city he has so long protected and he decides to do something quite unthinkable. For the most part it's a predictable Shakesperarian tragedy with plenty of opportunities for larger than life recitals and big booming voices. Where it really stands out is where the blame is laid. The lesson of this film is more that the Government is corrupt and can make the gullible poverty stricken think whatever they like instead of blaming the drama on one person or one idea we instead blame a largely faceless mass of angry Romans. Also it's not like Coriolanus is really a winning protagonist. He isn't exactly a nice guy and he never tries to hide that fact. We sympathize when he is thrown out of town but in a way completely understand why he was. It's not as clear cut a tale of good and evil which is very much it's strength.
Performances in a Shakespeare play go one of three ways; stilted readings from people who don't quite get it, over-the-top up and down recitals where people do funny faces never allowing it to feel natural or the classic thespian who gets all expressive with the anger and equally can make you forget they are even speaking in olde English. Thankfully for the most part it's the latter. Ralph is brilliant to watch as he breaks down and shouts at everyone and by the end I couldn't help but feel bad for him. Gerald Butler gives a performance not all too different from his 300 offering which works for the war hungry Tullus. Vanessa Redgrave does a great job as the Lady Macbeth style projecting over achiever, however she did do the overlong Shakespeare laugh (you know the one I mean). They were backed up admirably by Brain Cox and the two tribunal mischief makers James Nesbitt and Paul Jesson.
It also looks pretty great. They've gone for the modern up close shaky-cam style of film-making and for the most part it works, expertly feeling controlled and yet confused. They've brought the tale into the modern day which is handled well in the case of battles and environment but feels a bit heavy handed in the case of fake news readings from John Snow and others. That being said it makes the story very easy to follow and those of you worried about getting lost in the language shouldn't shy away. The context makes it much easier to decipher some of the more complex moments. However, if you are like the chavy kids in the back of the cinema, no this isn't an Afghan War movie with lots of blood, men being 'men' and pointless violence.
For those dead set against Shakespeare this was always going to be a hard sell but trust me, if you can break through the language there really isn't much like a good Shakespeare yarn and this is definitely that. It's bold and angry and really worth your time. More than anything though it's a chance to see a classic work you probably haven't even heard of done right. For me just that was enough to make this a must see.
Performances in a Shakespeare play go one of three ways; stilted readings from people who don't quite get it, over-the-top up and down recitals where people do funny faces never allowing it to feel natural or the classic thespian who gets all expressive with the anger and equally can make you forget they are even speaking in olde English. Thankfully for the most part it's the latter. Ralph is brilliant to watch as he breaks down and shouts at everyone and by the end I couldn't help but feel bad for him. Gerald Butler gives a performance not all too different from his 300 offering which works for the war hungry Tullus. Vanessa Redgrave does a great job as the Lady Macbeth style projecting over achiever, however she did do the overlong Shakespeare laugh (you know the one I mean). They were backed up admirably by Brain Cox and the two tribunal mischief makers James Nesbitt and Paul Jesson.
It also looks pretty great. They've gone for the modern up close shaky-cam style of film-making and for the most part it works, expertly feeling controlled and yet confused. They've brought the tale into the modern day which is handled well in the case of battles and environment but feels a bit heavy handed in the case of fake news readings from John Snow and others. That being said it makes the story very easy to follow and those of you worried about getting lost in the language shouldn't shy away. The context makes it much easier to decipher some of the more complex moments. However, if you are like the chavy kids in the back of the cinema, no this isn't an Afghan War movie with lots of blood, men being 'men' and pointless violence.
For those dead set against Shakespeare this was always going to be a hard sell but trust me, if you can break through the language there really isn't much like a good Shakespeare yarn and this is definitely that. It's bold and angry and really worth your time. More than anything though it's a chance to see a classic work you probably haven't even heard of done right. For me just that was enough to make this a must see.
JO
agree Really enjoyed this film for the acting and the story I was not aware of..
ReplyDeleteYou always seem to have some really interesting people in the cinema with you. However, nothing can beat the horror and disgust on the faces of the middle-aged women sat across from us in Dorian Grey.... ;)
ReplyDeleteRC