Review of Titus (1999) by Jordan R — 01 Apr 2008

I can't comment on how faithful it is to the original play, but it tells a strong story nonetheless. It's tragic all the way through - Titus is a good man who does a harsh thing (his "hamartia," just as the ancients would have demanded) for a good reason - and his world comes to an end because of it. Remains faithful to its forebears Aeschylus and Sophocles with its towering agonies and blood-drenched escalations. Not for the faint of heart at all.

Somewhat distracting is the bizarre "Ancient Rome meets Fascist Italy" setting, doubtless done to modernize things and to make it more visually interesting, but it distracts in the sense that you're always somewhat suspicious of how things will be accomplished (a world where the spears and heavy armor of the Roman Legions have triumphed over the shotgun-wielding Goths is a trifle hard to deal with), and the dream sequences are exceedingly weird and creepy.

Strong performances all around, particularly from Hopkins (never realized until now what a magnificent voice the man has), Lange, Lenix, and Fraser, who really creeped me out after Lavinia's mutilation. Matthew Rhys and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers also turn in credibly hateful performances as Chiron and Demetrius, Tamora's degenerate man-child sons.

It's pretty long and more than a little bleak, but still worth checking out.