Fiennes's show – front and back "stage"

Rating: Null/10 (10 May 2012)

Ralph Fiennes directed and lead-starred this little-known Shakespearean work that he acted on a London stage some ten years ago. In a magazine interview, he intimated "I wanted to play the part again", confessing his feelings for the protagonist in a paradoxical quip "I kind of like his unlikeability". He also explained that this is the only Shakespearean play ever banned, just before WW II in France, as being too right wing. He further likens Rome in the play to the world's oppressive superpowers today, and the rebelling Volscains to Chechnya, Georgia or even the Irish.
The plot is simple. Unflinching iconic warrior Caius Martius's (Fiennes) heroic defeat of Volscains earns him such popularities (together with the honorary title "Coriolanus") that he runs for Consul, a disastrous move. Anything but a politician, he walks out of the assembly in disgust at his supporters' hard-selling pitch of trying to persuade him to display his scars from the wounds. Later, after a scene not unlike Caesar's and Mark Anthony's respective manipulative speeches to the "barbarous multitude", what might have been glory turns into disgrace as he is banished. Bitterly infuriated, he turns to his ultimate enemy Aufidius (Gerard Bulter), who accepts his service and assigns him a troop with which he crashes the Roman adversaries. His possessive and domineering mother Volumnia (Vanessa Redgrave) and gentle, unassuming wife (Jessica Chastain) are sent to plead, with eventual success. But after signing the peace treaty of behalf of the Volscains and returning to continue with his service, he is killed by Aufidius and his gang.
Some critics mislead by giving the impression that this film deals out modern day violent action and Shakespearean art in equal measures. Far from it, the action is shown only at beginning, culminating in a knife dual between Martius and Aufidius very much in the West Side Story (1961) fashion – you can almost see Russ Tamblyn and George Chakiris coming back to life. After that, for a majority of the film's time, it is very much dialogue driven as you would see it in a regular performance of the play on stage, punctuated with only a few montages of cross cutting scenes.
Fiennes nails his dream role. Redgrave is at her best, but then have you ever seen her when she is not? I haven't. Chastain has a much easier role compared with her other two films in the same year, "The tree of life" and "The help". One delightful bonus is the role of a "First Citizen" (not big but prominent) played by Belgian actress Lubna Azabal, who has given such a tour de force performance in "Incendies" (2010).
This film rendition of an obscured Shakespearean play is a worthwhile cinematic experience, but then something which is most important is missing. The most dramatic scene has to be Volcains's series of fiery speeches that eventual change her son's mind. Redgrave is marvellous. But if you where watching it on stage, and if you were a seasoned theatre audience, you would also be watching for Coriolanus's reactions as his mother speaks. His performances here, because of the silence, could arguably be a bigger challenge than the mother's. This is where a great actor will shine while a lesser one has no place to hide. In the film however, Fiennes is one hundred percent invisible and the camera is all on Redgrave. I would love to have seen him take this challenge.