Review of Titus (1999) by Quinn M — 14 Sep 2007

There are some amazing aspects to this film, the most important being the acting. Anthony Hopkins plays one of the most emotional and heartbreaking characters of his acting career with superb brilliance and effortless beauty.

Having said that, all of the "modernization" and unclear setting did ABSOLUTELY nothing to further drive in the original thoughts, and messages of William Shakespeare's original play. If anything, it distracted from the story,weakening what could have been a fantastically powerful film.

The over stylized, and at times inadequate directing is my biggest issue with the film. Granted, there were scenes where I was amazed at the image being placed in front of me, but directing is much more than that.

Direction of actors is key, and many times the character actions did not match the dialog, or theme of what was being "played". I was annoyed by scenes that seemed rushed, and unfinished. Overall, there are some fantastic things to be said about "Titus",and little to be said for director Julie Taymor.

Sometimes good ideas don't pan out, this just happened to be a very expensive "good idea.".