Shakespearian tragedy in a modern setting

Rating: 9/10 (19 March 2015)

Caius Martius is Rome's most successful general; leading from the front to secure victory over the Volsces. However he is not popular with the people; they take his soldierly attitude to be arrogance and to be fair he has a fairly low opinion of them too. After his latest victory he is given the title Coriolanus and encouraged to run for the position of Consul in the senate. Tributes Brutus and Sicinius are uncomfortable with this fearing he will one day seek to control Rome without the senate. They quickly turn the people against Coriolanus and he is forced into exile. With nowhere else to go he heads to the Volscian city of Antium. Here he joins forces with his erstwhile enemy Tullus Aufidius and starts his revenge against Rome.
Ralph Fiennes does a brilliant job, both as director and in the role of Coriolanus. He captures the military brilliance of the man as well as his sense of betrayal when cast out from the city he has served for so long. As such he rather overshadows Gerard Butler's Aufidius, although this may be because we get to see far less of his character. The rest of the main cast do a fine job, most notably Brian Cox who plays Coriolanus's friend Menenius, Vanessa Redgrave who plays his mother and James Nesbitt who is delightfully unpleasant as Sicinius.
Before I started watching this I was unsure how the modern day setting would work but I need not have worried; in fact it worked very well. The Serbian locations clearly reminding the viewer that this is a timeless story; the battle scenes reminding one of the all too recent war that ravaged that part of the world in the '90s. Some viewers may have difficulty with the original Shakespearian dialogue but I found it engrossing as I had to concentrate just that little bit harder while watching. Overall I'd certainly recommend this film even if Shakespeare isn't 'your thing'; just be warned it is quite bloody at times.