I was quite surprised that a local distributor decided to show Coriolanus here in Manila. It's not always that we get high-brow films in here. I guess he or she thought that the military-style atmosphere of the movie would bring moviegoers in.
Well, the movie is an updated version of Shakespeare's version of Coriolanus. It is violent and the beginning of the movie is a protracted war scene done with very shaky camera work. You'd also have to listen closely since they are still speaking in the Bard's language but it shouldn't be too hard to understand. Trust Shakespeare to come up with dilemmas and plot twists that would really interest the viewer. I guess that's the reason why his works are timeless.
The ironic thing though is even if this play was written hundreds of years ago, it seems to be quite relevant today! You could transpose all these events to any of the earth-shaking political events today and everything will still play out as if it was current.
Ralph Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave and Brian Cox are mesmerizing. I still can't believe that the hunky Gerard Butler is doing Shakespeare! This movie is not really the kind of entertainment you'd want for your weekend, but for those who miss Shakespeare, this should be a treat!
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