Plot: War begets revenge. Victorious General Titus Andronicus (Sir Anthony Hopkins) returns to Rome with hostages: Tamora (Jessica Lange), Queen of the Goths, and her sons. He orders the eldest hewn to appease the Roman dead. He declines the proffered Emperor's crown, nominating Saturninus (Alan Cumming), the last ruler's venal elder son. Saturninus, to spite his brother Bassianus (James Frain), demands the hand of Lavinia (Laura Fraser), Titus' daughter. When Bassianus, Lavinia, and Titus' sons flee in protest, Titus stands against them and slays one of his own. Saturninus marries the honey-tongued Tamora, who vows vengeance against Titus. The ensuing maelstrom serves up tongues, hands, rape, adultery, racism, and Goth-meat pie. There's irony in which two sons survive.
Alternative Plot: Returning from 40 years at war with the Goths, the Roman general Titus Andronicus (Anthony Hopkins) executes the eldest son of Tamora, Queen of the Goths (Jessica Lange), setting off a long chain of revenge, cruelty, and murder, aggravated when Tamora marries the new Emperor, Saturninus (Alan Cumming).
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