The Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines will bring the latest film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” to the screen beginning Thursday, Jan. 20, and continuing until Monday, Jan. 24.

Showings are weekdays at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.

This latest rendering of the classic play is directed by Broadway producer Julie Taymor and features Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren in the principal role of Prospera.

The film also features a stellar supporting cast: Felicity Jones, David Strathairn, Russell Brand, Chris Cooper, Tom Conti and Djimon Hounsou.

“The Tempest” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September. The film is rated PG 13 and runs for 1 hour and 50 minutes.

The following plot summary from the International Movie Database focuses on the original by the Bard (his last play) and this new cinematic interpretation:

“In Shakespeare’s fantastical thriller, the magician Prospero orchestrates spirits, monsters, a grief-stricken king, a wise old counselor, two treacherous brothers and a storm at sea into a fantastical conspiracy bringing banishment, sorcery and shipwreck into the lives of two hapless lovers to stir and seal their fate.

“Here Prospero takes female form as Prospera, giving her journey of vengeance and self-discovery a wholly new resonance. As Prospera breaks her magical staff against an entrancing volcanic landscape at the end of her heroic quest, this poignant story of love and forgiveness translates into a riveting and filmic mystical tale, for our own times.”

“The Tempest” opened to somewhat mixed reviews, as do all attempts to modernize a classic. Critics universally praised Mirren’s performance.

David Denby wrote in the New Yorker, “Taymor has played with Shakespeare’s text — switching genders, and inventing, dropping, and transposing passages — but there’s an emotional gain.... [we] can enjoy the movie’s strengths, including the dark hard-baked terrain and the solid acting….”

Roger Ebert writes that “[Taymor] doesn’t capture Shakespeare’s tone … but she certainly has boldness in her reinvention.”

Reviewers’ concerns with the adaptation tended to center on the interpretation and direction. New York Times critic A.O. Scott’s summary is typical: “Ms. Taymor’s overscaled sense of stage spectacle can be impressive and effective, even moving, but her three-dimensional, high-volume compositions translate awkwardly into the cosmos of cinema.”

The historic Sunrise Theater, located at 250 NW Broad St. in Southern Pines, is nonprofit. Ticket prices are $7 for all shows. Refreshments, including beer and wine, are available, and all movies are commercial free.

Contact the theater at (910) 692-3611 or at www.sunrisetheater.com.