This is the film that made Sir Anthony claim he would never make another film again. After seeing it, you'll beg him to keep working (he's since changed his mind, thankfully). But its not just his work that makes this film work, its everybody's - direction, cinematography, costumes, art direction, make-up... you name it. This version of Shakespeare's bloodiest play is as close to perfect as one could imagine. I will grant that my experience with the play was previously limited to enumerations of the physical manglings of the characters within it, but those alone made me wonder how the story could fitted into the evening with so many choppings and bleedings and raping. Yet, Titus himself comes off as being one of the most noble and suffering of the Bard's heros, as hero he is. Titus Andronicus has to deal with revenge upon him from the Gothic Warrior Queen, who is embittered by the death of her first born son by Titus' order. Meanwhile, there is a political struggle for the position of Caesar, with two brothers battling it out with the Senate. Titus chooses one, therebye beginning the destruction of his world, at least in one way. The brothers are battling for the control of much, and at one point this includes the hand of a girl. This ends in tears, brought about by the sudden involvement of the remaining Gothic sons (their mother is now favoured at court, so they are as well). To be honest, any more detail is going to ruin it, but suffice it to say that Titus is put through so much that you wonder if Old Bill S. modelled the guy on Job of the Bible. Everybody seems to be out to get him in some way or other, even if it's just to mock him or make him go insane. The acting in this is inspired. The villians (and there are no shortage of them) are deliciously evil, with the possible exception of Saturnia who is directed to run around and yell a lot (this may be true to the character's text, but for Heaven's sake, it gets boring after awhile, Ms. Taymore!). The sets are both sensual and evocative of a modern interpretation of ancient Rome - as if you combined Pre-Depression Berlin, Modern-day Elegance, and Sci-fi Future brushed metal. The make-up for the villians is suitably worn, as though it's been slept in after an all-night orgy. For the rest, the make-up is typically invisible. The only problem I have with it is the occasional intrusive use of multi-media visions, a la Peter Greenaway. While they're neat and evocative, somehow they don't fit the rest of the whole. It would have been better to either do something tamer (more traditional "vision" stuff with a bit of fog) and let the viewer decide of it was real or a dream. All in all, this is a GREAT film, even with the few problems. You must have a strong stomach, as this is not a film that pulls its punches in the visuals department (there's a lot of blood everywhere), and its shock value is pretty high at times, but if you don't have a problem with any of that; run, do not walk, to your local theatre.
