Coriolanus

Ralph Fiennes, his shaved head like a bulbous knot of rage, directs himself in this intriguing update of Shakespeare's play. The movie, the actor's feature-helming debut, retains the Bard's language, while transporting the action to our media-saturated age. Fiennes plays Marcius, a great Roman soldier who has more respect for his enemies—including his Volscian counterpart, Aufidius (Gerard Butler)—than for the commoners he protects. After a heroic victory in battle, he returns to Rome to be groomed as the next Consul, aided by Menenius (Brian Cox), a noble politician, and supported by his mother, Volumnia (Vanessa Redgrave), and his wife, Virgilia (Jessica Chastain). Others cynically plot against him, resulting in his exile. Banished, he turns to his nemesis, Aufidius, and leads the Volscian army against Rome. CNN-like TV news reports amusingly relay the plot. It's fascinating and somehow apropos to see witnesses recording events on their cell phones. The production is greatly aided by the performances of Cox and the magnificent Redgrave, in addition to Fiennes' own fiery turn. Marcius himself remains enigmatic, and, in his unwillingness to evince an acceptable public image, he's less believable in the contemporary setting than he may have been in Shakespeare's day. It's a compelling, serious movie that opens with a charge of immediacy that the mechanics of the play can't quite sustain.