TITUS (1999) ***1/2

Reviewed 2/6/00

For once, Shakespeare suffers in comparison to his adapter. With Titus, notable stage director Julie Taymor proves she is a talented film director as well. Augmented by Luciano Tovoli's gorgeous cinematography and the production design (mixing ancient and early 20th century Rome) of veteran Dante Ferretti (with obvious input from Taymor), Titus is one of the lushest Shakespeare adaptations put on celluloid. Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeare's earliest works, feeling like a warm-up for the much later Lear, and it suffers from being overly ambitious. Many character actions simply stem from plot necessities, and Shakespeare's language was, shall we say, not quite polished yet. This adaptation is also enormously ambitious, but Taymor is up to the task. Combining the imagination of a Terry Gilliam with the daring of a Peter Greenaway, Taymor summons a sense of increasing dread and black humor as this revenge saga progresses. Only at the end of Titus with its unearned implication of hope does Taymor's reach exceed her grasp. Anthony Hopkins as warlord Titus, Alan Cumming as Emperor Saturninus, and Harry J. Lennix as Aaron the Moor stand out among a cast that also includes Jessica Lange, Colm Feore, Laura Fraser, and Angus MacFadyen.

Copyright © 2000 George Wu