Titus (1999)

  And we are back on track!  Normally, I like to give myself around 24 hours to really digest a movie but that just hasn't been in the cards lately, so you'll forgive me if this is a little spotty.

Titus Andronicus (Anthony Hopkins) is Rome's greatest general, most recently victorious over the Goths.  He has taken their queen, Tamora (Jessica Lange), and her sons as hostages.  When he returns, he learns that Caesar has died and left two sons, Saturninus (Alan Cumming) and Bassianus (James Frain) fighting over the people's vote.  Titus' brother, Marcus (Colm Feore) announces that the general has won the people and the empire is his if he wants it.  He refuses and backs the oldest brother, Saturninus, who immediately turns around and demands Titus' daughter Lavinia (Laura Fraser) for his bride.  When Bassianus runs away with her, Saturninus marries Tamora instead.  Now Empress of Rome, she turns all of her power to destroying the Andronicus family.

I have a couple of notes about this movie that aren't really relevant but I feel like saying them anyway.  One:  I put this in my queue two or three years ago and it is just my fucking luck that it shows up now when I'm reading The Merchant of Venice for my English class.  I cannot escape Shakespeare.  Two:  I'm 83% certain Alan Cumming dresses like his character here all the time at home.

This is probably one of the most stylistic adaptations I have ever seen.  Director Julie Taymor plays with ideas and themes without tying them to a particular time or place.  For anyone else it probably would have been a hot mess but somehow Taymor pulls it all together into a highly inventive fever dream of a play.

Oh, I should probably mention for those of you not familiar with the source, this is one of the bloodiest plays Shakespeare ever wrote and deals with rape, murder, and cannibalism.  Just, you know, FYI.