Revengers Tragedy

Released Feb 14, 2003

1 hr. 49 min.

Comedy

Drama

Horror

List

60%

5 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A lunatic called the Duke (Derek Jacobi) runs Liverpool, England, one of the only British cities still habitable in a land devastated by man's recklessness and Mother Nature's wrath. He murders at will, but his ways are about to catch up with him. Biding his time since the Duke killed his wife several years earlier, Vindici (Christopher Eccleston) has decided that he's ready to get back at his enemy, and, as the Duke will soon learn, Vindici isn't the type to be intimidated or outsmarted.

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Audience Member

Deliciously twisted and an excellent adaptation of a really fine Jacobean play. Actors are great, but watching Derek Jacoby as a Karl Lagerfeld sendup is priceless.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

After a few years in directorial obscurity, struggling to get money to make films he wanted to make. Alex Cox returned home to his native Merseyside, and got lucky with this post-modern adaptation of Thomas Middleton's 1607 play, it's a very unusual film, and while it was good to have Cox back making films, this film does drag in places, despite all best intentions. It is 2011, and the South of England has been destroyed by a natural disaster, Liverpool has become a bleak dystopia, and personal vendettas are commonplace here. The Duke (Derek Jacobi) is a crime lord who rules over the city with an iron fist. Vindice (Christopher Eccleston) has come to the city to extract revenge on the Duke for the death of his wife. He has to get close to the Duke, which won't be easy, but he meets his brother Carlo (Andrew Schofield) who works as a chauffeur to the Duke's son Lussurioso (Eddie Izzard). It is through Lussurioso that Vindice is able to get close to the Duke, but Vindice discovers what a dysfunctional family they are. With a screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce (24 Hour Party People (2002)), this mixes up Middleton's play and mixes in modern Scouse with the original text of the play. This should have helped put Alex Cox back on the map, but he's retreated to Colorado, where he's been making home movies. What a shame.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A darkly satirical Shakespearean story of revenge and betrayal set in contemporary (or perhaps future) Liverpool. The original dialogues is preserved for the most part, and the story translated to contemporary world quite well. Alex Cox's directing style works very well here, creating a surreal tale with a good dose of black humor.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

With its grungy, futuristic aesthetic, Elizabethan England's most dangerous play feels right at home in Alex Cox's capable hands.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A dark and bloody tragedy written by one of Shakespeare's contemporaries, reset in a near future, and apparently post-apocalyptic, Liverpool -- that has to be a strange movie. And it certainly is. Christopher Eccleston brings a sort of maniacal joy to his character's cunning plots, dark deeds and arch witticisms. The rest of the cast pale in the shadow of his performance but they are all equal to the demands of their roles. This is jacobean tragedy is a grand guignol of a tragedy and this film makes it into the darkest of dark comedies. You'll likely either love it or hate it -- I found it great fun.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It is a weird ride, If you don't have a base in the jacoban language you probably won't get what's going on, plus the post appocalyptic setting will most probably throw you off. But if you just accept the universe of the movie for what it is you might actually enjoy it. At times it does become very cheesy and/or over drammatised but as a whole it's a fun experience, just don't watch this movie expecting to see your everyday kind of flick

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

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Alex Cox

Director

Christopher Eccleston

Vindici

Suzy Eddie Izzard

Lussurioso

Derek Jacobi

The Duke

Diana Quick

The Duchess

Carla Henry

Castiza

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Doug Knoop

Seattle Times

Probably destined to join Cox's other films (Sid and Nancy, Repo Man) as a cult favorite.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 5, 2003

Full Review

Mark Adams

Hollywood Reporter

A gloriously over-the-top revenge comedy-drama that could attract a cult following.

Feb 25, 2003

Full Review

Jamie Russell

BBC.com

Ultimately annoys as much as it exhilarates.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 13, 2003

Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Cox is laughing and enjoying all the twisted ridiculousness of it all.

Rated: 3.5/4

Sep 17, 2004

Full Review

Ian Mantgani

UK Critic

Could use a few things -- like, I dunno, maybe life, skill, comprehension and the wisdom of knowing that jokes and a sense of humour are not the same thing.

Rated: 1/4

Apr 2, 2003

Full Review

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Synopsis

A lunatic called the Duke (Derek Jacobi) runs Liverpool, England, one of the only British cities still habitable in a land devastated by man's recklessness and Mother Nature's wrath. He murders at will, but his ways are about to catch up with him. Biding his time since the Duke killed his wife several years earlier, Vindici (Christopher Eccleston) has decided that he's ready to get back at his enemy, and, as the Duke will soon learn, Vindici isn't the type to be intimidated or outsmarted.

Director: Alex Cox
Screenwriter: Frank Cottrell Boyce, Margaret Matheson
Distributor: Fantoma
Production Co: Bard Entertainments Ltd. [gb]
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 14, 2003, Wide
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital