And though I’ve received a smug eyebrow or two over
that claim - I stand by it. Something that was particularly strong in "Hamlet" (another
breathtaking adaptation that reminds us more of the stage than of the screen), the asides,
are relished here. As one of my favorite aspects of the theater - characters being able to
interact with the audience, thereby detaching themselves from their world and entering
ours - I was enthralled, as always, to see them made use of so well. The setting of the
film, an ambiguous time in Rome, which seems suited to it's locale (i.e. - there are
telephone poles and a modern looking city in the background - why take the time to
remedy those when you have a time period that's so uncertain), is a grand dimension
worth savoring. The film gets a little too full of it's flamboyantness  - bombarding us with
CGI effects is not a great idea, it distances Shakespeare from it’s text (the best part), and
too heavily emphasizes visual interpretation.

 On the other hand the film does (though I'm not sure the comparison is at all
warranted) what Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo & Juliet" couldn't - it goes the "Caligula" route
and casts appropriate actors, thespians of stature, pulling them into it's stew of blood,
rape, cannibalism and all the other nastiness of this world. It brings the rock n' roll
vibrancy and visceral adaptation of the seedier elements of the Bard to a boil as only Polanski's
"Macbeth" had before it. In short - it's maybe the goriest Shakespeare you're likely to see,
but it’s done with ambition, never holding back the dark comedy and constantly
reminding us of the importance of the actors in bringing Shakespeare to life.

I must fully acknowledge the genius of Julie Taymor. I saw her staged musical
'The Lion King' in London and it blew me away. Such creativity, such passion - a
competent songwriter on top of this. Her telling of this film (which I've read was an
off-Broadway play in itself) is marvelously realized. Her ambition and what I see on the
screen are a marriage of ideas come to life - and brutally ideal for the work of a
playwright whose best plays leave the stage littered with corpses. She is, on top of a
decent director of musicals, an able film director. She could have used a spit and polish
(as most adaptations of Shakespeare could), but there is nothing in 'Titus' that's so bad it
needs to go. When reviewing something that's displaced from it's own language in our
time, displaced from it's original setting and enacted by people of different upbringing
than was written for; liberties are left wide open and pardons are easily granted. I loved
watching 'Titus'. I yield to the fact that much credit, as in all of Shakespeare’s plays that
arrive at the screen, goes to his addictive language, which I gulp like wine.

 As usual Lange is the full focal point - an actress who never ceases to delight and
stun. Her Gemini enactment - now devilish, now seductive, now dripping the venom of a
mother beaten - reeks of genius. And Hopkins, who was going to quit acting after making
this film, brings about that old man jitter and confident deception that calls to mind the
brilliance of Orson Welles as Falstaff in 'Chimes at Midnight'.

Cumming, over the top as necessary and shamelessly licking up the decadence of
his part, never ceases to amaze. But it’s Harry Lennix, whose job is so difficult - to tackle
a creature of encompassing and inexplicable evil - that has no remorse, no reason and yet,
a soft spot for a child that bears his skin color - who boldly sure-foots his way to
enlightenment. Buried to his neck and soon to die - he begs for a chance to commit evil
again - a man addicted to crime for a cheap thrill that's almost sexual in nature. A
brilliant performance. (And I didn't dislike Rhys-Myers, whom I think did a good job of
meandering over from the set of 'Velvet Goldmine', in the same clothes, but AFTER the
met amphetamines kicked in - he was a loud, energetic beast - a far cry from the wooden
and sedate loser he played in the former film.)

"Titus", though at times, more capable than need be, struck me to the ground with
it’s power.