Ralph Fiennes makes a pounding directorial debut with this bloodthirsty and intense update of Shakespeare's play, relocated to contemporary Serbia in 'a place called Rome'. Fiennes himself is the titular warlord pushed by his controlling mother (Vanessa Redgrave in a powerhouse, Oscar®-worthy performance) to seek the powerful position of Consul, but is loath to endear himself to the masses. Cast out of the city, he joins forces with his former enemy Aufidius (Gerard Butler) to wreak his awful revenge. Rousing, action-packed and primal, filled with brutal combat scenes (filmed by The Hurt Locker's Barry Ackroyd) and ferocious characters, this is a very modern adaptation full of clarity and intelligence.

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4* "Ralph Fiennes's intelligent take on an unloved Shakespeare links it not only to the 1990s Balkans, but the present-day Arab spring." Guardian

4* "Vanessa Redgrave is stonily magnificent." Telegraph