Coriolanus (2014) User Reviews (7)

"Let it be virtuous to be obstinate"

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 8 November 2019]

'Coriolanus' is not an easy play to perform or stage, with Coriolanus not being easy to identify with, and dramatically is not as concise or as consistently gripping as other Shakespeare plays. One of Shakespeare's most compelling and more complex titular characters is one of the main interest points, regardless of whether he is likeable or not (more the latter), as well as it emphasising a class divide that wouldn't be too out of date today.

Had no doubt that this production of 'Coriolanus' would be good, or at least good. The cast is a great one and like Tom Hiddleston, no stranger to Shakespeare with him being in 'The Hollow Crown' and being excellent as Hal/ Henry V, as an actor a good deal. It was interesting to see whether 'Coriolanus' would fare done in minimalist modern dress, which for me would have been a first to see if my memory serves correct. Was not let down at all, this 'Coriolanus' is not just good, it's excellent.

The camera work was not always great, but this is more to do with the experience rather than the production itself. The camera work could have been much more intimate, especially in the more dramatic moments where some more expansive wide shots agreed did distract and made the stage somewhat smaller than it actually is.

My only complaint actually with the actual production itself was to do with the transition changes between scenes, the momentum sags and they could have been far more interesting than they were.

On the other hand, although simple the production looks good, the sparseness not being ugly at all and is done in good taste. Found the set quite atmospheric and that it fitted with the play's and drama's mood, while the lighting is not too dreary and adds to this atmosphere. The modern dress costumes don't look cheap and fit with ease within the setting. The use of props was clever and not too much of a gimmick and the blood is not used gratuitously and symbolic of anger and hate that appear frequently throughout the play without going overboard or in your face with it. Josie Rourke's stage direction is quite remarkable, 'Coriolanus' themes and conflicts are handled with un-pat neatness, as well as all the vital story elements, even if the setting is different the spirit is very much the same. The humour is not overdone or too broad, so it doesn't grate and is funny, the action is violently harrowing and tense while not pulling any punches and the tragedy brings a lump to the throat.

In the difficult title role, Hiddleston is mesmerising and the embodiment of him while digging deep into the character's way of thinking (which is one of the play's challenges). The character also grows and goes on a journey and in a way that's never rushed or over/under-played. There are also fine performances from Birgittte Hjort Sorensen (beautifully understated), Mark Gatiss (uncompromisingly ambitious), Deborah Findley (sincere) and Hadley Fraser (indeed a force to be reckoned with).

Summing up, excellent. 9/10

Josie Roukee's adaptation of William Shakespeare's Coriolanus.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 8/10 · 6 February 2014]

31st October 2013:

Originally expecting to see trailers for upcoming films as I waited for Danny Boyle's tremendous Frankenstein (2011-also reviewed),I instead got the chance to see trailers for other National Theatre Live titles. Finding most of the shows/films to look a bit too twee,I was greatly intrigued by the final trailer for an extremely grim William Shakespeare's Called Coriolanus.

Due to the trailer showing clips of Coriolanus, (which is one of the few Shakespeare plays to have been banned in recent history,due to the Fascist element of the story leading to it being banned in post-WWII Germany and a production in France being shut down after causing a number of riots)I was disappointed that I had missed out on such an interesting looking movie.

January 2014:

Thankfully,I soon found out that this particular adaptation of Coriolanus was coming back to the big screen,which led to me getting ready to witness the rise of Coriolanus.

View on the film:

Peeling away the more animated side which he had displayed in the fun 2011 Comic book epic Thor (also reviewed),Tom Hiddleston gives an incredibly detailed performance as Coriolanus.

Showing Coriolanus's hatred of the public and the politician's right from the start,Hiddleston gradually shows the troubling psychological effects of Coriolanus entering the spotlight,with Coriolanus's strong military stance being one that is hardened by each shred of power that he grips,which leads to Hiddleston brilliantly showing Coriolanus become a Fascist,as he starts to realize the power of his public persona.

Joining Hiddleston,Birgittte Hjort Sorensen, (who has battled with Danish politics in the TV series Borgen) gives a fantastic,quiet performance as Coriolanus's wife Virgila,with Sorensen giving Virgila a sense of unease,as she finds herself struggling to deal with Coriolanus's craving for power.

Giving the film a flamboyant edge,Mark Gatiss gives an excellent performance as Lanatus,with Gatiss showing Lanatus to be someone who is willing to do anything that will increase his popularity or power,even if it may,inadvertently lead to his downfall.

Whilst the 250-seat Donmar Warehouse theatre does appear to offer a real intimacy for the stage version,director Josie Rourke disappointingly lets some of the intimacy slip out of the filmed edition by using wide shots in some of the movies most powerful scenes which clearly show the audience in the background,which leads to a gap between the stage and the screen.

Limited to one set,Rouke cleverly uses a minimum of sets and props to build Coriolanus's Fascist world,as dripping blood and red paint is splatted across the screen to show the public's anger at the growing corn shortage,and to also show Coriolanus's burning hatred for everyone.

For the scenes based in Rome's parliament,Rouke brilliantly uses chairs to show the politician's constantly changing their direction,as Coriolanus begins to set his sights on power.

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[Educhico · 8/10 · 26 February 2021]

The simple use of an ever present marked red square, hedging the bloody battle arena between the protagonist and his enemy, that eventually becomes the symbol of their partnership. The stage for the glorification of his deeds. The separation between him and "the common people". The confinement of his treason accusation. The marking of his downfall. Even in darkness, it is always emphasised in lighting, to remind how much the protagonist becomes more and more isolated in his own arrogant ambition and anger.

And if the stage lighting is already a seemingly effortless masterwork in scene ambience and transitioning, trading actors and transforming a never changing set without the audience ever noticing it, the camera work helps to enhance every little change during the play.

Either framing each new scene with a dolly wide shot, either carefully framing the dialogue while focusing someone else, on which the words may weigh greater in the moment. Simple acts that could be lost on some of the live audience are cautiously regarded and captured by the directors, setting up the difficult job of filming the play separately from its staging as a complementary and deeper look at the strong performances, specially and undoubtedly that of Hiddleston's protagonist.

Tom Tyrannical

[StellaEtoil · 10/10 · 13 January 2015]

Even if you were a liberal arts major it's easy to skip over this Shakespeare gem, but read Coriolanus and it will contend as a favorite.

So I'm lauding the whole production but just for a moment let's talk about Tom Hiddleston and recall the roles he played in the preceding years.

TH is an actor who skyrocketed to fame playing egoists, and his roles stand in contrast to the figure he presents in real life. This is a man who's led a privileged life but is quick to explain that the opportunities he's been afforded are an accident of birth. Here I paraphrase, but TH has modestly stated that he found an affinity for languages (e.g. Greek) because he was afforded a chance to study them, and ideally, any child should be presented with the same opportunity.

We're talking about a lead actor with an impressive educational pedigree who believes in equality, but man is it fun to see him inhabit the skin of proto-fascist Coriolanus. Just as it's a gas to see him as Loki trying to take over the world, or Hal struggling to transform into Henry.

Caius Martius Coriolanus is a difficult role for any actor; the character is a poor politician. Tom delivers in a big way.

Good play, so-so production

[hatboxdragon · 6/10 · 21 November 2015]

I was really looking forward to seeing this, because of Tom Hiddleston and because I really liked the play itself when I read it to prepare. Unfortunately, I was disappointed overall. This wasn't how I wanted to see Coriolanus done.

First up, I should acknowledge that the atmosphere in the theatre itself would no doubt be very different, and that the camera-work employed by NT Live was quite poor and didn't do the action on stage justice. Even so, I found the production dull and unengaging. This is not to say that there weren't some strong positives. Tom Hiddleston (Caius Martius Coriolanus) and Mark Gatiss (Menenius) were definitely the stand-outs amongst those on stage in their presence and skill, though neither, for me, truly got to the heart of their roles. The production's visual style, which was sparse and stuck to a very limited colour palate, was pleasing overall, as were the simple costumes. Good use was made of the minimalist set and the music for the scene changes was effective in its creation of atmosphere.

On the other hand, the production plodded along with no sense of urgency. The rest of the cast ranged from adequate to poor. The constant recycling of a very small number of actors through the various minor roles without any differentiation as to costume or demeanour did nothing to help with understanding the play's action. For example, one actor played a noble lady, a senator, a Roman citizen and a Volscian, with minimal clues as to which she was at any one point. The choice to cast women in roles written for men was ill-judged, as it undermined a key theme of the play, that is, the stark line between the male-political and the female-domestic spheres and their competing demands on Coriolanus. Three of the instances of kissing cheapened the production, undermining the integrity (such as it was) of the tribunes' cause, the martial respect between Coriolanus and Aufidius, and the dignity of Coriolanus' family's appeal to him. The visual effects involving chairs and chains, pouring water and characters marching from front to back, seemed gimmicky and pointless. Nor was it clear what it meant that cast members stood at the back of the stage in shadow when not speaking. Were they present, absent, or what? Some of the cuts to the text removed some important perspectives on Coriolanus and made the action harder to follow.

The biggest disappointment in the production for me, though, was that in the end it was quite timid. It was neither the human tragedy of Coriolanus nor the triumph of people power that the irritating, introductory mini-documentary seemed to promise. It made no push to address the flaws in the play's text that taking a strong stand one way or the other would have provided an opportunity to do. Stuff happened, Coriolanus died, and in the end it all seemed to add up to nothing very much. Certainly I didn't walk out of the cinema feeling any sense of resolution. I mention this because, as described in the text of the play I have, other productions have introduced features that provide definite judgments on what has just occurred and the actions taken by particular characters.

So, overall, while I am glad to have seen at least one production of this play, the flaws outweighed the virtues.

Can a play this old really have spoilers?

[raven_guest · 5/10 · 7 February 2014]

Fan girls aside, this version of Corio has garnered a lot of positive reviews and attention - and all of it is earned.

Not being a regular theatre goer, I was worried about seeing this play for many reasons - not understanding it etc, but there is something so accessible about this version of Corio that will appeal to most.

The space is very small and used to great effect. Props are minimal and not wasted for a second, along with the inspired use of trance style music and projections that add atmosphere without being 'gimmicky'.

The costumes are unobtrusive in the sense that they fit the purposes without taking attention from the scenes themselves.

The cast as stellar. My personal favourites (besides my beloved Mr. H) have to be without a doubt the four actors that play multiple roles; Mark Stanley, Rochenda Sandall (why is this woman not get more credit?!?), Dwane Walcott, Jacqueline Boatswain. They play multiple roles effortlessly and leave their mark in each one.

Humour is used for good effect in this play - the thought that a tragedy of this political subject matter could be dull worried me, but the comic relief did lighten things and made the sad events all that more affecting.

I won't mention the leads as they have had their props in all the media reviews - and deservedly so! I will be interested to see Hadley Fraser get more recognition as he is a force to be reckoned with as Tullus Aufidius.

Watch this if you have the chance, it is amazing, breath taking and heart breaking. Mr. H shows he is more than capable of leading roles, and work such as this will allow him to step out from under Loki's vast shadow.

Shouty Shakespeare

[adamk-2 · 4/10 · 7 June 2020]

I've only seen one other production of this play, about 40 years ago in NYC, with Morgan Freeman in the lead role and Denzil Washington being a spear-carrier. I remember enjoying that, which is more than can be said for this. Josie Rourke's production is one of those that puts me right off Shakespeare, in which everyone spends a lot of time lustily shouting at each other for no apparent purpose, issuing strings of seemingly random words at great volume. I couldn't make sense of what anyone was saying or what it all meant, but could only go, "Right, well she's obviously very cross with him, so I'll just go with that". At the core of it is Tom Hiddleston, bland and dull, the cheese string of the acting world, turning Coriolanus into a walk-on in his own play. Only Mark Gatiss and Elliot Levey manage to make sense of their lines If I'd seen this as a kid I'd never watch another Shakespeare again.