I’ve been waiting for the trailer for Coriolanus for much too long. I think the release date was originally this fall, but now it’s been pushed back to a December 2 opening in America. This is Ralph Fiennes’ debut as a director, and he gave himself the lead role as Coriolanus. Fortunately for all of us who love accented dong and/or Scottish beefcake, Ralph made the directorial decision to cast Gerard Butler as Coriolanus’s nemesis. Basically, this gets Gerard back to do something that he’s really good at: playing a dramatic, action-oriented hero where he doesn’t have to mask his natural Scottish brogue. Plus, Gerry just looks hot in a military uniform. The film also stars Brian Cox, Jessica Chastain, and Vanessa Redgrave, who gives a performance as Coriolanus’s mother, and she’s already being tipped for a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Here’s the trailer:

Ralph looks very interesting, but it felt like he was doing his Voldemort voice for part of the trailer, right? And Gerry just looks great. He should do more movies like this – supporting parts where he gets to be tough and brutal and steal scenes away from the leads. As for the plot…

Caius Martius ‘Coriolanus’ (Ralph Fiennes), a revered and feared Roman General is at odds with the city of Rome and his fellow citizens. Pushed by his controlling and ambitious mother Volumnia (Vanessa Redgrave) to seek the exalted and powerful position of Consul, he is loath to ingratiate himself with the masses whose votes he needs in order to secure the office. When the public refuses to support him, Coriolanus’s anger prompts a riot that culminates in his expulsion from Rome. The banished hero then allies himself with his sworn enemy Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler) to take his revenge on the city.

[From Movie Geeks]

I swear I saw this play years ago at the Shakespeare theatre in Washington, D.C., and I basically have no memory of the plot. I just remember how cool the set pieces were in that production, and I have a vague memory of all of the Christ and martyrdom imagery in the play. I believe Ralph’s vision of the story is supposed to be vaguely reminiscent of the Bosnian War. It seems faithful to that kind of modernization too, like it’s about urban warfare and genocide in a modern, affluent setting.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to this so much. Ralph and Gerry! YAY!

Photos courtesy of WENN.