Caius Martius, aka Coriolanus, is an arrogant and fearsome general who has built a career on protecting Rome from its enemies. Pushed by his ambitious mother to seek the position of consul, Coriolanus is at odds with the masses and unpopular with certain colleagues. When a riot results in his expulsion from Rome, Coriolanus seeks out his sworn enemy, Tullus Aufidius. Together, the pair vow to destroy the great city.
Acting
Vanessa Redgrave's Volumnia will haunt your nightmares.
Direction
Fiennes makes ancient verse feel like CNN footage.
Writing
Shakespeare's most brutal political thriller, untouched.
Director
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Caius Martius Coriolanus
Gerard Butler
Tullus Aufidius
Lubna Azabal
First Citizen (Tamora)
Ashraf Barhom
Second Citizen (Cassius)
Jessica Chastain
Virgilia
Vanessa Redgrave
Volumnia
James Nesbitt
Tribune Sicinius
Brian Cox
Menenius
John Kani
General Cominius
Dragan Mićanović
Titus Lartius
Paul Jesson
Tribune Brutus
Dan Tana
1st Senator
Miodrag Milovanov
2nd Senator
Nikki Amuka-Bird
TV Pundit
Slavko Štimac
un Lieutenant Volsce
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Fiennes filmed in Belgrade using real Serbian locations to evoke modern political collapse; the riot scenes accidentally mirrored actual protests happening blocks away.
The film's release in 2011 made its populist demagogue themes uncomfortably predictive of later political movements—Shakespeare wrote this in 1608.
GB
