Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut is an adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy about the tribulations of a banished hero. Transposing the action from ancient Rome to present-day Eastern Europe, the film tells the story of General Caius Martius Coriolanus (Fiennes) who returns home from war to find himself at odds with his countrymen who see him as a tyrant looking for fame and glory. When his ambitious mother, Volumnia (Vanessa Redgrave), tries to orchestrate formal recognition for her son, both the authorities and the people turn against Coriolanus and exile him. Allying himself with his former enemy, Aufidius (Gerald Butler), an embittered Coriolanus sets out for revenge against those who have wronged him.