Excellent contemporary reading

Rating: 8/10 (27 January 2012)

Shakespeare's play concerns a victorious Roman general, betrayed and banished from Rome, who joins the Volscians, his former opponents, until he is prevailed upon (by his mother and wife) to make peace between the two sides, following which he is killed by the Volscians.
Ralph Fiennes directs and stars as Coriolanus in this film of the play, where Shakespeare's dialogue is delivered in a modern setting wherein the Roman/Volscian war has been transposed to the Balkans. A bleak piece, and less well known than Shakespeare's other darker plays, the modern setting suits it: if anything, it makes the archaisms in the dialogue more accessible.
Fiennes' direction is gritty, and all the performances are excellent, though Fiennes himself and Vanessa Redgrave stand out.
This film works well as both a contemporary action drama, and also culture!