If you didn’t already know, you wouldn’t have a clue, until the closing seconds of the newly released trailer (which can now be seen below), that Coriolanus; the tale of a General who becomes a successful politician, only to see himself betrayed and banished, before attempting to regain power; was based on a classic tragedy by William Shakespeare.
Featuring Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter) as the titular General-turned-politician, Coriolanus moves the tale from its original setting (in the Ancient Republic of Rome) to a fictional modern-day republic; and looks to be a powerful, visceral, and strangely relevant and fitting story for a tale that’s now several hundred years old; and, if it turns out to be worthy of the early praise it’s already earned, will prove to be a brilliant directorial debut for Fiennes.
Vanessa Redgrave (Mission: Impossible) stars as Coriolanus’ pushy mother (the woman who pressures the General into joining the world of politics, while Gerard Butler (Law Abiding Citizen) appears as his life-long enemy (who will eventually help him try and regain the power he once held), alongside Brian Cox (Ironclad), Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life), and James Nesbitt (The Way), in the film that’s due to be released on December 2nd in the US, and on January 20th in the UK.
