Before Julie Taymor went on to more ambitious ventures, such as making a pretty good Beatles musical (Across the Universe) and ruining Spider-man (the much maligned Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark Broadway musical), Taymor made an equally ambitious attempt at reimagining "Titus Andronicus" for the silver screen. The result is a movie that takes the rather absurd source material as seriously as is likely possible, while still playing up the inherent camp at moments. Despite Taymor's villification on Broadway by some for the fallout of the Spider-man debacle, I actually enjoy Taymor's take on most of her projects. She typically has a very creative and original take on any project she approaches, even if the source material has been established for quite some time. Titus proves to be no exception to this. The most fascinating element of the this screen version of Titus is the anachronistic time in which it is set. It doesn't appear to be of any particular era; yes, there are Roman Colosseums and people dressed in armor and ancient apparel, but sharing the screen are also motorcycles, motorcades, and several characters, such as Saturninus, dressed in apparel that would be more appropriate in a 30 Seconds to Mars video rather than in a Shakespearean era piece. Taymor claims this was intentionally done to emphasize the fact that violence and violent behavior has not changed over eons. I would be hard-pressed to debate this with the author of the film, but I think there is another reason for the inclusion of this element; the play has cemented a reputation itself for its conflicts in setting. The setting is highly debated, and there are several chronological elements in the play that are inconsistent, leading even more credence to the idea that it was one of Shakespeare's first works. By blatantly blending several different eras into one fantasy setting, it nullifies the flaws within the inconsistencies. All in all, I'd chalk it up as a stroke of directorial genius on Taymor's part.
I was also quite pleased with the performances in the film. Not enough can be applauded regarding Jessica Lange's performance as Tamora. Of course, stating that Jessica Lange did a remarkable performance in anything is never really much of a surprise, but she really endows the character with the raging menace that makes her such a fun character to portray when done correctly. The other particular performance I'd like to single out, despite the minimal amount of screen time, is Harry Lennix as the malicious Aaron. He was one of the few actors Taymor carried over from her stage production of the same play, and its easy to see why. Aaron is both articulate and intellectual in the film while at the same time being unspeakably foul; the only other actor I could see in this role realistically is maybe Jeffrey Wright, but Lennix is very strong so the need to think of "what could have been" is unnecessary. I also found the bit discussing religion in the film, for Aaron identifies as atheist, and its often lost that this was a concept of that time as well, and from a historical perspective this emphasis in the film is interesting. The scene with him laughing as he describes the horrors bestowed on Lavinia relates the despicable demeanor of the character spot-on. I wasn't particularly crazy about Alan Cumming's take on Saturninus; I think Cumming is a fine actor and it didn't really pull me out of the movie, it just felt a little more flamboyant and spastic than I personally pictured it in the play. As for Hopkins as Titus; it wasn't an epic performance but it was certainly strong, and did the material well.
Some of the more fantastical scenes I felt didn't work as well as they could have. The aftermath of Lavinia's attack looked a little cheesy, with twigs replacing her hands in the scene and much of her silent acting not being particularly tragic and more comical. And the scenes with Titus seeing a wall of flame with a trumpeting angel? I could have done perfectly well without that being included, as it did little to drive the story. And the scene where Lavinia writes in the sand as she recalls the violent actions brought upon her......having symbolic tigers jumping towards you to illustrate the horror of a scene just looks a little silly.
So, Can I Watch This Instead of Seeing the Play?
The short answer is, no, you should absolutely read the play, for it has some rich moments, and choosing literacy over viewing pleasure is always a wise course of action. The more accurate answer is this: the film stays very faithful to the source material. Clearly the setting and the execution of the material is varied somewhat, but it relates the story in an effective and flattering way. While I didn't have the play's text right in front of me as I was watching the play, at almost 3 hours it felt like the film captured just about all of the actual text. There have bene relatively few productions of Titus Andronicus that have been recorded, and as a result I dare say that this film is the best thus far. Taymor's artsy fleets of fancy could seem overwrought at moments, but overall her film did what these adaptations do at their best and elevates the material.
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