Revenge Served Too Cold

"Coriolanus"

Actor Ralph Fiennes has a great pair of eyes.  They can be incredibly expressive and completely covey what his character is feeling during a scene.  There's a scene in Coriolanus that illustrates the power of his piercing icy blue pupils.  Rome General Caius Maritus Coriolanus (Fiennes) is engaged in battle with a soldier from the Volscian army.  After finishing off the combatant with a knife, Coriolanus's face is drenched in blood.  But we are still able to see those intense blue eyes of his showing that his character is a force to be reckoned with to anyone who happens to cross his path.  Unfortunately that ferociousness that is so pervasive from Coriolanus through about the first hour of the film dissipates quite quickly in the second hour making for an uneven cinematic experience.

In an alternate modern day Rome the city is in the middle of a terrible food shortage.  Rome's citizens are in a state of unrest and are looking to their government for answers.  Rome is at war with the neighboring city of Volsci.  Volsci's army is led by Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler,) sworn enemy of Rome and Coriolanus.  After a brutal skirmish Coriolanus and Aufidius both return to their homes.  Rome's senate further honors and decorates Coriolanus for his achievements on the battlefield.  Coriolanus is then poised to run for an advisory position in the senate much to the delight of his mother Volumnia (Vanessa Redgrave.)

Despite Coriolanus's militaristic accomplishments there are a couple of senators who do not care much for his demeanor and question his love for the citizens that he has sworn to protect.  These two senators go on to prompt the masses to provoke exile to their power hungry general.  Much to Coriolanus's great disliking he is cast out of the city.  Months pass and Coriolanus makes his way to the city of his enemies and decides to join forces with Aufidius and exact his revenge upon the city that turned its back on him.

Coriolanus is adapted from one of the many works of the great William Shakespeare.  I generally prefer Shakespeare's tragedies to his comedies.  For instance, I think the stage and film versions of Titus Andronicus are both fantastic in their own right.  Coriolanus must have been one of Shakespeare's lesser known and respected works because before this film I had never heard of it.  There's probably a reason why Coriolanus is not talked about when discussing the works of the master playwright.  This tale of revenge loses much of its momentum after the first act.  The tone of the film almost entirely changes.  Very little character development is further expanded upon and we left to just sort of wait around for a hopefully exciting third act.  To much disappoint the conclusion is a major letdown to its plot and characters.  Patience does not payoff in this picture. 

In regards to the performances I was only impressed with about half of the cast.  Despite its modern day setting, Coriolanus leaves its original language intact.  One reason I did not care much for Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet was because Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio seemed to not have any understanding of what they were saying to each other.  That is a huge problem when your actors do not have comprehension of the poetic language which they are speaking to one another.  Fiennes, Redgrave, and Brain Cox I believe possessed that ability to deliver their lines with much believability and conviction.  All of their scenes were solid.  While Butler, Jessica Chastain, and the two actors playing the pair of senators just sort of flounder about through their dialogue.       

Coriolanus was Fiennes's first time at being behind the camera.  Why he chose to do this as his rookie directorial debut I have no idea.  Why Shakespeare?  Better yet, why mediocre Shakespeare?  He does get a powerful performance from Redgrave and of course himself as well.  In the storytelling department though, that is another matter entirely.  There are glimpses of Fiennes's cinematic eye which I am sure will further develop with more practice.  Coriolanus does have a few high points but they are mired due to an unlikable main character and unbalanced pacing.  The tone of revenge gets lost along the way and is unable to redeem itself.  I know revenge is dish best served cold, but this tastes like it has freezer burn.