Coriolanus

In a place calling itself Rome, Caius Martius (Fiennes) is a brilliant general who is awarded the name “Coriolanus” after defeating his enemy Tullus Aufidius (Butler), and capturing the city of Corioles. When he tries to run for consul, however, his contempt for the common people causes him to be banished from the city, whereupon he seeks out Aufidius in an attempt to form an alliance and take his revenge on Rome.

Filmed in Bosnia in part due to budgetary reasons, Coriolanus demonstrates brilliantly how well Shakespeare can be adapted to a modern context, with the setting allowing for sharp commentary on the current political situation in the Balkans. As the innumerable modern revisions of Shakespeare have shown, it is astonishing how universal the themes the Bard tackled are, and this film is no exception. Ralph Fiennes has proved time and again that he is a very talented actor, especially where Shakespeare is concerned, and this film, his directorial debut, shows that he's quite capable of running the whole show as well. He demonstrates an impressive ability to direct both dialogue heavy scenes as well as battle sequences which would not be out of place in a summer action film. Gerard “Leonidas” Butler seems like an odd choice for a Shakespeare adaptation, but he plays the part surprisingly well, and he certainly knows what to do in an action sequence. The play, Shakespeare's second longest, has been edited down considerably to fit into a two hour run time, but the resulting increase in pace fits the modern setting very well: this is not a stately Roman play, but a raw, fierce, exhilarating take on one of the Bard's least known works.