Themes: Heads of State, Future Dystopias, Out For Revenge
Main Cast: Christopher Eccleston, Eddie Izzard, Derek Jacobi
Release Year: 2002
Run Time: 109 minutes
Plot
Revenge, obsession, and the morally ambiguous aristocracy are targets of this adaptation by director Alex Cox of the 17th century dark comic play Revengers Tragedy, written by Shakespeare contemporary Thomas Middleton. The vindictive and mentally unstable Vindici (Christopher Eccleston) has returned to the grimy streets of a post-apocalyptic Liverpool in order to attempt to bring ruin to the ruling family led by the Duke (Derek Jacobi). The Duke was personally responsible for the death of Vindici's fiancée ten years previously when the woman would not yield to the Duke's sexual advances. An opportunity arises for Vindici's vengeance when the Duke's youngest son is accused of raping the wife (Sophie Dahl) of Lord Antonio (Anthony Booth) -- one of the Duke's courtiers. When the Duke's son is acquitted of the rape charges, Lord Antonio's wife dies a mysterious death, which leads to even more havoc in the court of the Duke. Seizing the opportunity, Vindici acts swiftly and violently but the morality of his cause is just as questionable as the aristocracy he is ousting. Revengers Tragedy was a competing film at the 2002 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
Revengers Tragedy is a film adaptation of the 1606 play The Revenger's Tragedy (attributed to Thomas Middleton in the credits, following the current scholarly consensus). It was directed by Alex Cox and adapted for the screen by Cox's fellow Liverpudlian, Frank Cottrell Boyce. The film stars Christopher Eccleston as the revenge-obsessed Vindice, with Derek Jacobi as the evil Duke, Eddie Izzard as his lecherous son Lussurioso, Diana Quick as the Duchess, Andrew Schofield as Vindice's brother Carlo (a version of the play's Hippolito), Carla Henry as his virtuous sister Castiza, and Marc Warren and Justin Salinger as the Duchess's sons Supervacuo and Ambitioso.
The original play is set in a depraved Italian court, but Cottrell Boyce's screenplay relocates it to a futuristic version of Liverpool in the year 2011, following the aftermath of a natural disaster which has destroyed the southern half of Great Britain. The city is a dystopia in which society is collapsing and where vendettas and the crude exercise of power are the norm. Jacobi's Duke is the most powerful crime lord in the city. Cottrell Boyce's script rearranges the play heavily and mixes the original Jacobean language with modern language.
Revengers Tragedy was shot and edited in Liverpool with an almost entirely local crew, including cinematographer Len Gowing, costumer Monica Aslanian, makeup designer Lesley Brennan and assistant director Kim Ryan. Cox's usual production designer, Cecilia Montiel prepared a visual strategy which was executed by her co-designer Remi Vaughan-Richards. The producers were Margaret Matheson (who executive produced Cox's Sid and Nancy for Zenith) and Tod Davies (Cox's wife, who also wrote and produced Cox's Three Businessmen).
The movie's soundtrack was written and performed by Chumbawamba. In 2003, it was released by the band on their independent record label, MUTT.
