I just read the play and I liked it for all its tragicness. I looked at the movie and I really like Jennifer Connely and Jessica Lange is pretty good, she looked good in the trailer. And of course, Mr. Anthony Hopkins--but is it worth the trauma? Serious film talk here...what do you think?
shareYes, it is worth it!!!!! (Warning: Possible Spoilers!)
That being said, be prepared for an interesting interpretation of the play. Julie Taymor has drawn from all periods of history, putting chariot-like carts next to motorcycles and using costumes that I think tend to be a bit art deco or other genres. Also, be prepared for full frontal male nudity. (Parts had to be cut out to keep it from being an NC-17 rating.)
The violence is implied more than anything. There are parts with gore, like Titus' hand and just before the pies were made and the scene where the pies were served (those who have read the play know what I'm talking about). But for me, the implied violence and the violence that takes place off stage is pretty horrible—you get to use your imagination which can be much more vivid than what is shown, kind of how as kids you always imagine things being worse than they really are.
I watched it with my college Shakespearian Studies class and for the first 3 or 4 minutes we were all asking each other if we had the right tape—up until the title was shown. And we were constantly surprised by the artistic choices Taymor made. Some of us liked it, some not. I actually didn't like it at first but once I renewed my "crush" on Angus Macfadyen (Lucius), I had to rewatch it and liked it—A LOT! I think the problem was that when I first watched it, I was prepared for a straight interpretation. The second time I was prepared for less traditional ideas and enjoyed it much more.
Jennifer Connelly isn't in it though. Lavinia is played by a wonderful Scottish actress, Laura Frasier (Doris in Iron Jawed Angels and the blacksmith in A Knight's Tale).
By seeing it acted rather than read, I changed my opinion of both Tamara and Lavinia. I ended up feeling pity for Tamara and hating Lavinia (she is so horrible when she and Bassianus come across Tamara in the woods—played really well). I almost felt as if Lavinia brought part of Tamara's wrath upon herself with the way she treated Tamara.
I don't know if this answers your question or not about the trauma. It is a bit traumatic but then it is a Shakespearian tragedy.
An interesting note from my class that might put it into perspective: Shakespearian audiences were similar to today's in that they wanted blood, guts and gore and the higher the body count the better the play was. This was his first attempt at a tragedy and so he really wrote it to please his audience. It was popular at the time and made several returns to the stage. It is considered his worst tragedy by today's scholars. (My opinion starts here.) But if you look at it for what it was—the equivalent of today's sellout blockbuster movies where everything blows up—it isn't too bad. I actually would venture so far as to say it is my favorite of his tragedies, especially since it did exactly what it was intended to do—please his audience.
Hedwig378 - wonderful post.
By seeing it acted rather than read, I changed my opinion of both Tamara and Lavinia. I ended up feeling pity for Tamara and hating Lavinia (she is so horrible when she and Bassianus come across Tamara in the woods—played really well). I almost felt as if Lavinia brought part of Tamara's wrath upon herself with the way she treated Tamara.
This post is full of spoilers, so if you haven't read the play or seen the movie, stop reading now!
Chirpy: Thanks for the reply!
It is true in Shakespearian tragedies that the lines between heroes and villains are blurred. Usually, the hero is the villain and vice versa. There is one decision, one action the protagonist makes/does that starts the ball rolling and ultimately brings about his/her demise. For Titus, it was not so clear. There were two that I saw and that I continually debate with myself over which one is the true cause (that made me sound like such a dork!). The first is when Titus kills Tamara's son and the second when he gives Lavinia to Saturninus.
As far as everyone having a "dark, evil, passionate and sensitive side," what about Lucius, his brothers and especially Marcus? They don't seem to have as much of a dark and evil side as everyone else. They are all motivated by honor and doing the right thing. They, in my opinion, were totally good and didn't do anything to bring themselves down and, as a result, Lucius and Marcus were the only ones left standing, along with young Lucius, who I really liked because he was such a cheeky kid. You could say that they went against Titus in the whole Lavinia thing. But Titus had already started to fall and they were protecting the honor of their sister/niece from doomed men. Is there something else I'm missing?
The other side of the coin was Aaron, who didn't posses a sensitive side--well, except for his son. But that passion was kind of manic anyway. He delivers my favorite line in the whole play: "I have done a thousand evil deeds as willingly as one would kill a fly. And nothing pains me more heartily indeed than I cannot live to do ten thousand more" (or something along those lines). The part about propping up corpses outside their friends' houses was pretty good too.
I can't agree with you about Lucius. He's the one who insisted on a sacrifice in the first place. He's also ready to kill Aaron's infant until he strikes a deal for information. In some readings of the text it's implied he doesn't keep the bargain and will kill the infant at the end anyway, although obviously Taymor doesn't follow that interpretation.
His brothers are less well developed so it's harder to form an opinion, but they all willingly participate in the sacrifice. They're all pretty hot-headed too, willing to draw their swords on their father. (In the text, both Quintus and Martius say "And shall, or him we will accompany.")
Marcus is probably the least bad, but even he exhorts Titus to revenge on a couple of occasions. In addition, Saturninus insinuates that Marcus is trying to install the Andronici as a new dynasty, and there may be some truth to that because Marcus does insist a bit even after Titus publicly declines the crown.
Also, I found Aaron's passion for his son more tender than manic. I couldn't believe all of his confession -- most of his evil actions are very goal-oriented but much of what he confesses to is just pointless. It's as if he's trying to turn himself into a scapegoat, though I'm not sure why.
Spoilers!!!
I never thought of Lucius or his brothers in those terms. I just always bought into they were following post-war protocol. I'm open to this view of them. I'll have to think some more on it though and rewatch the movie with that in mind before I decide. BTW, I always believed Lucius honored his deal with Aaron. But then again, I always assume the best in people (perhaps a mistake in Shakespearian tragedies).
As far as Marcus is concerned, perhaps I had an over simplified view of him. I always just thought he was the weaker of the two brothers, kind of the curse of being a celebrity's brother, who was too weak or gutless to do what Titus had done leading up to the beginning of the play. I've always been a bit annoyed by Marcus, maybe because I never saw this other side to him.
As far as Aaron goes, we're just going to have to agree to disagree. I cannot see any redeeming qualities in him. Even if he didn't do all the things he confessed to, how sick do you have to be in the head to come up with them and then pretend to have done them? Still not looking very good to me. And for his son, well, I don't have any kids, so maybe I can't relate. But he killed the nurse because she knew he was the father and Tamara was asking for the baby to be killed. Why did he have to kill the nurse? It was implied that he was going to kill the midwife too and possibly even Tamara if she laid a hand on the baby. Why couldn't he have just taken the kid away as he ended up doing? He also was a bit militant when he's talking to Chiron and Demerits--almost with an unjustified sense of entitlement. He just looks and sounds manic and psycho.
Even if Lucius and his brothers are following tradition, it's still a cruel and barbaric act that they perform. Others in the play are less dogmatically devoted to tradition for its own sake, so I don't think they were compelled to act as they did.
I never saw Marcus as weak, just someone who took a career in politics instead of the military. He has risen to become a very powerful senator, and he shows himself to be very persuasive when he intercedes to allow Mutius to be interred in the family tomb. I don't really believe that he is nefariously trying to install the Andronici as a new dynasty, but that possibility is mentioned in the text so it's open to interpretation.
***If you havnt read the play, first of all you shouldnt see the movie :-) and second of all this is a spoiler***
I think the play's exaggeration of tragedy is Shakespeare's way of waking his readers up, I still find it amazing how someone who can write something as beautiful as those sonnets and Much Ado can create such brutality. Its as if he is saying "Hey, with all beauty there is darkness just as plain." As Alan Cumming says in the commentary of Taymor's movie, you have all these movies about blowing things up and murder and crime, but you rape one girl, you manipulate one family to a tragic end, and do it in the language that Shakespeare did it, and no one can stomach it. Its not what they do to Lavina that is so shocking, its how they taunt her, how they ridicule the one virture she hung her very life on that shakes us to the core. Its worth it in that respect. The beauty of the language is somewhat of a cushion against the agony the play puts you through.
Actually I think Colm Feore was the one who said the lines you quoted from the commentary.
shareI have so far not thought it worth buying, as it nowadays tends to hang around in the Bargain Box equivalent where lots of junk are also present, thus the thought it might be junk also arises. However, I would be glad to be shown that I was wrong... Shakespeare is usually worth it.
"Birds don't crawl."
- Turanga Leela
maybe you'd want to rent it first? Try it out...
LOL...Titus doesn't deserve to be in the junk pile
crissy_1991 - great post!
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