Review of Titus (1999) by Pete L — 30 Sep 2010

It is rare to see such an assured debut from a filmmaker as Julie Taymor's Titus. Her take on Shakespeare's tale of a war between two families is nothing short of brilliant. The visuals and camerawork are exceptional, there is no doubt; but what is truly impressive, and rare in such a visual-feast of a film, is Taymor's screenplay and the way that she takes her time with each scene, allowing it to breathe and settle. In so doing, she makes the dialogue easier to follow and the action easier to digest. With Titus, Taymor clearly has a proclivity for rich scenery and displays a beautiful balance between choreographed rigidity and whimsy; she handles the material is if already a well-seasoned auteur. While Anthony Hopkins is very good in the titular role, he is upstaged by an in-form Jessica Lange, who simultaneously evokes compassion and chills to the bone. The rest of the cast is also fantastic, and they deliver the dialogue as if freshly spoken for the first time, clearly free from the burden of stale past incarnations. No one is more successful in this than Taymor, however, who is as respectful as she is revisionary. I have never seen Shakespeare set to film as bravely and as beautifully as in Titus.

I will be going to the New York Film Festival tomorrow night to see Taymor's take on The Tempest. I can only hope it's as good as this.