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2011 British film
Coriolanus
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRalph Fiennes
Screenplay byJohn Logan
Produced byRalph Fiennes
John Logan
Gabrielle Tana
Julia Taylor-Stanley
Colin Vaines
StarringRalph Fiennes
Gerard Butler
Vanessa Redgrave
Brian Cox
Jessica Chastain
Paul Jesson
CinematographyBarry Ackroyd
Edited byNicolas Gaster
Music byIlan Eshkeri
Production
companies		Icon Entertainment International
BBC Films
Distributed byLionsgate
Release dates
  • 14 February 2011 (2011-02-14) (Berlin International Film Festival)
  • 20 January 2012 (2012-01-20)
Running time123 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7.7 million
Box office$1,072,602

Coriolanus is a 2011 British film adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus, directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes in his directorial debut.

Plot

In a modern-day alternate version of Rome, riots are in progress after stores of grain are withheld from citizens and civil liberties are reduced due to an on-going conflict between Rome and neighbouring Volsci. The rioters are particularly angry at Caius Martius (Ralph Fiennes), a brilliant Roman general whom they blame for the city's problems. During a march, the rioters encounter Martius, who is openly contemptuous and does not hide his hatred of the regular citizens.

Meanwhile, the commander of the Volscian army, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler), who has fought Martius on several occasions and considers him a mortal enemy, swears that the next time they meet in battle will be the last. Martius leads a raid against the Volscian city of Corioles and, while the siege of Corioles is initially unsuccessful with much of Martius's unit being killed, Martius gathers reinforcements, and the Romans manage to conquer it. After the battle, Martius and Aufidius meet in single combat, which results in both men being wounded but ends when Aufidius' own soldiers drag him away from the fight.

Martius returns to Rome victorious and in recognition of his great courage, General Cominius (John Kani) gives him the cognomen of "Coriolanus". Coriolanus' mother Volumnia (Vanessa Redgrave) encourages her son to run for consul within the Roman Senate. Coriolanus is hesitant to do this, but he eventually agrees to his mother's wishes. He effortlessly wins the support of the Roman Senate, and seems at first to have won over the commoners as well due to his military victories. However, two members of the Senate; Brutus (Paul Jesson) and Sicinius (James Nesbitt) are critical of his entrance into politics, fearing that his popularity would lead to Coriolanus taking power away from the Senate for himself. Together, they scheme to undo Coriolanus and so stir up another riot in opposition to him becoming consul. Faced with this opposition, Coriolanus bursts into rage and openly attacks the concept of popular rule as well as the citizens of Rome, whom he still looks down upon. He compares allowing citizens to have power over the senators as to allowing "crows to peck the eagles". The two tribunes condemn Coriolanus as a traitor for his words, and order him to be banished. Coriolanus retorts that it is he who will banish Rome, from his presence.

After being exiled from Rome, Coriolanus seeks out Aufidius in the Volscian capital of Antium, and offers to let Aufidius kill him in order to spite the country that banished him. Moved by his plight and honoured to fight alongside the great general, Aufidius and his superiors embrace Coriolanus, and allow him to lead a new assault on the city, so that Coriolanus can claim vengeance on the city which he feels betrayed him.

Together, Coriolanus and Aufidius lead a Voscilian attack on Rome, which, in its panic, tries desperately to persuade Coriolanus to halt his crusade for vengeance. First, Roman Senator Menenius (Brian Cox) attempts to persuade him, but fails to do so. In response to this, Menenius, who has seemingly lost all hope in Coriolanus and Rome, commits suicide by a river bank. Finally, Volumnia is sent to meet with her son, along with Coriolanus' wife Virgilia (Jessica Chastain) and his son. Volumnia succeeds in dissuading her son from destroying Rome, and Coriolanus instead concludes a peace treaty between the Volscians and the Romans alongside General Cominius. However, when Coriolanus returns to the Volscian border, he is confronted by Aufidius and his men, who now also brand him as a traitor. They call him Martius and refuse to call him by his "stolen name" of Coriolanus. Aufidius explains to Coriolanus how he put aside his hatred so that they could conquer Rome, but now that Coriolanus has prevented this, by signing a peace treaty, he has betrayed the promise between them. For this betrayal, Aufidius and his men attack and eventually kill Coriolanus.

Cast

Production

The film was produced on a budget of $7.7 million USD. It was a box office flop, unable to cover up the budget costs.

Release

The film premiered In Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival on 14 February 2011 and it opened the 2011 Belgrade International Film Festival. On 2 December of that year, it opened in New York City and Los Angeles. As of February 2012, it has not yet received a wide U.S. release. However, the film has been shown on a limited basis in other large US cities, such as Chicago. It received a full UK cinema release on 20 January 2012 after premiering at London's Curzon Mayfair cinema on 5 January.

Home media

Coriolanus was released by Anchor Bay Home Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on 29 May 2012. Both home media formats of the film contain director commentary with Ralph Fiennes as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette entitled The Making of Coriolanus. The film was later released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom by Lionsgate Films on 4 June 2012, containing the same bonus features found on the U.S. release.

Reception

Critical response

Coriolanus received generally positive reviews and currently holds an aggregate of 94% at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 123 reviews; the consensus states: "Visceral and visually striking, Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus proves Shakespeare can still be both electrifying and relevant in a modern context." Katherine Monk of The Vancouver Sun gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5, stating that "Coriolanus not only finds all the contemporary parallels, it reiterates the tragedy of the endlessly exploited patriot who hopes to earn love at the end of a barrel" Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote in her review, "Mr. Fiennes has made smart choices here, notably by surrounding himself with a strong secondary cast".

Accolades

This film was nominated for Golden Berlin Bear award at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. Ralph Fiennes was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the 65th British Academy Film Awards.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Berlinale 2011: Competition Films". Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  2. CORIOLANUS RECORDING SESSION Ilan Eshkeri. September 2010
  3. ^ Maher, Kevin (Feb. 4, 2012). "Ralph Fiennes peers outside the hurt locker for Coriolanus". The Australian. Retrieved Feb. 4, 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  4. "'Coriolanus' (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  5. "Fiennes makes directorial debut in Serbia". AFP. 17 March 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  6. "Ralph Fiennes' 'Coriolanus' Finalizes Cast For Serbian Shoot Next Week". 11 March 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  7. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (31 March 2010). "Why Coriolanus Matters". Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus Blog. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  8. Sulcas, Roslyn (Nov. 25, 2011). "A First Plunge Into Directing Is Hardly Routine". The New York Times. Retrieved Feb. 4, 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  9. "Belgrade film festival closes, Ralph Fiennes' movie opens 2011 FEST". Earth Times. 28 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  10. "Ralph Fiennes begins filming directorial debut in Belgrade". Monsters and Critics. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  11. ^ Manohla Dargis (1 December 2011). "He's the Hero of the People, and He Hates It". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  12. Coriolanus at filmdates.co.uk
  13. Katz, Josh (15 March 2012). "Coriolanus Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  14. Coriolanus at Rotten Tomatoes
  15. Katherine Monk (19 January 2012). "Film review: Fiennes finds heart of Bard's Coriolanus". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 20 January 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

Maps

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