Coriolanus is the story of a Roman general who reluctantly agrees to become a politician then, when he finds himself banished from Rome, seeks bloody revenge on those who betrayed him. This version of the Shakespearean tragedy is set in a contemporary world with Kalashnikov's and rolling news, a decision which works well for the most part despite the risk of coming across as patronising. Screenwriter John Logan is surely aware from his previous work on Gladiator and The Last Samurai that audiences are capable of understanding (and willing to pay handsomely for) stories set in ye olden days.
As director, Fiennes has extracted some brilliant performances from his actors, none more so than Vanessa Redgrave who is chilling as the mother with a greater thirst for war than her son Coriolanus himself. Brian Cox is excellent as the general's advisor Menenius in a more substantial screen role than Shakespeare originally wrote for the stage. Even Gerard Butler, despite taking a while to get into it, eventually delivers Shakespeare's dialogue as if he's really speaking it rather than reading from a script. The only jarring performance comes from Jon Snow, better known as the face of Channel 4 news which raised a few giggles at the screening I attended. This isn't due to Snow's performance which is admirable, but because his presence, for UK audiences anyway, jolts us out of the fiction that the Shakespearean dialogue and undefined geography create.
If Coriolanus is to be described as a war movie then it is an unusual one. Most contributions to the genre present themselves as decidedly anti-war. This, however, as British director Ken Loach has pointed out is a disingenuous claim, as many so called anti-war films actually revel in the spectacle of explosions, gunfire and gore. These films rarely go beyond the simplistic statement of 'war is hell' (but only for the western soldiers unfortunate enough to find themselves embroiled in the bloodbath). Whether it's Oliver Stone's Platoon or Kathryn Bigalowe's The Hurt Locker, the enemy is reduced to little more than shadowy characters, flitting through the jungle or across rooftops waging their underhand war against our brave, tortured boys.
Coriolanus is different. It focuses on a high-ranking individual born and bred for warfare. A man for whom fighting and killing is not just honourable, but the only path to honour. Coriolanus is proud of his 27 battle scars and despises the politicians who have none. After suffering terribly at the hands of the enemy, the general threatens his men that if they do not get up and fight he will turn against them and kill them himself.
When pressured into taking a political role, Coriolanus finds that his contempt for ordinary people must be hidden behind a veil of PR if he is to be a success as a politician. And as such we are left wondering which, if any, is better, an honest warmonger or a duplicitous politician. Happily Fiennes' film does not answer this question. If you like nicely packaged, satisfying, rewarding cinematic experiences then this is not the film for you. If, however, you prefer to be left with plenty of material for after-cinema debate then you'll love Coriolanus.
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