Macbeth

This is hands down my favorite movie of 2015. I saw it twice on its opening weekend at the local cinema. Everything from the acting to the eerie and haunting soundtrack to the cinematography is amazing. You could literally pause this movie at any point and the screenshot would make for a terrific poster. The soundtrack really adds to the overall atmosphere of the film, which is as bleak and grim as anything I've seen in a long time. The acting is what really solidifies this film, however. Michael Fassbender (Macbeth) and Marion Cottilard (Lady Macbeth) should simply be handed Academy Awards for Best Actor / Actress. It has been a long time since I've seen acting of this caliber on the big screen. Watching Macbeth's deterioration from a once-honorable and respected warrior to a man whose overly ambitious actions drive him beyond guilt into paranoia and madness is astonishing. Equally astonishing is Lady Macbeth's gradual fall from wretched co-conspirator (she feeds the poison into her husband's mind) to witnessing the manifestation of the monster she helped to create and the guilt that follows. Her "Out Damn Spot" soliloquy might be my favorite scene of the whole movie. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have often been portrayed as unforgivable soulless monsters. This interpretation of the film portrays the two main characters not as soulless, but as tortured souls that have transgressed beyond any redemption.

If you aren't familiar with the story, this is the plot of Macbeth in a nutshell: upon achieving a great victory in battle, a warrior is told by three witches that he will become the king of Scotland. Macbeth tells his wife what the witches told him, and she becomes hell bent on seeing the prophecy through. She is determined that the best opportunity for her husband to become king is to kill the king while he sleeps under their roof. From the moment they plot to kill the king, everything- including his sanity- begins to unravel.

While I would give this movie six stars if I could, I do urge that Macbeth is not for everybody. This is not a film intended to win the hearts of mainstream audiences. The first time I saw it, some people got up and walked out. The second time I saw it, someone booed at the end. There was no applause at the end of either viewing. While the music and cinematography are breathtaking, if you don't particularly enjoy Shakespeare because of the difficulty understanding the poetic language, then be forewarned. While there is plenty of violence in this move, there are long scenes of dialogue and quiet self reflection (soliloquies) that can make the film hard to follow and thus boring.

The language is meant to invoke questions about the meaning of evil, predestination and free will while focusing on the isolation and meaninglessness that result from cruelty and selfishness: a true fan of Shakespeare would argue that the language is a type of cinematography (so to speak) all it's own.

If you are not familiar with Macbeth and do not particularly enjoy Shakespeare, I'd think twice before seeing this movie. However, because the movie is so amazingly realized, I suggest picking up a copy of "No Fear Shakespeare Macbeth" (it has the original Shakespearean verse on one page and a modern interpretation on the page next to it so you can easily translate the meaning). Once you read through it, then I highly recommend seeing the movie. There's a reason why Macbeth has been re-told for over 400 years after being written: it IS just that good. This is Game of Thrones before there was Game of Thrones.

Justin Kurzel’s new presentation of Macbeth is a stunning and original interpretation. The play is well known yet every element has been reimagined and the viewer is treated to a powerful and satisfying experience.

Visually, the film is extraordinary. The battle scenes are brutal and shocking. The director uses a realist approach which emphasises the harshness and ruthlessness of this world. The shots of the landscape evoke desolation. Each of the settings is not simply a backdrop to the action, but functions more like a character in its right. The most effective and interesting camera work creates the wonderful interpretations of familiar scenes. To avoid spoilers I will simply say that key scenes in the play, such as Macbeth’s vision of the dagger, the brilliant interpretation of Birnam Wood’s encroachment on Dunsinane, or the deaths of Lady Macduff and her children, are brilliant. Each of the soliloquys is skilfully reimagined.
Of particular note are the images of children throughout the film. The opening scene shows Macbeth and Lady Macbeth burying a child and children’s faces are a key focus in many scenes. The horrific effects of this society on its children are foregrounded. We are familiar with images of child victims of war and of child soldiers. These are re-conctextualised in Macbeth, making a powerful statement about war. This is also one of the keys to Fassbener’s Macbeth, who is grim and smouldering. We see a man who has had some element of his soul and his humanity, ripped from him.

Comparisons with Polanski’s Macbeth are inevitable. Both interpretations are brilliant. Where Fassbender broods, Jon Finch rages. Both films are dark and Gothic. The imagery in Kurzel’s version adds fire and flames as a significant symbol. The dialogue in this interpretation has been pared back, and some viewers may be disappointed at what has been left out. But the film more than makes up for this with its stunning visuals which give a strong impression of medieval Scotland; a world both familiar and alien. The changes made to the story and the scenes that have been added all enhance its meaning. Like the Polanski, this film uses an eerie and haunting soundtrack to great effect.

"MacBeth" (2015 release; 113 min.) is the latest big screen adaptation of the William Shakespeare play. As the movie opens, we see a small child's funeral (turns out to be the child of MacBeth). After the opening credits, we are given a very brief synopsis as to the overall situation, with MacBeth being loyal to the King, and it's not long thereafter that MacBeth leads the troops in a decisive battle. Meanwhile, we get to know Lady MacBeth, who has grander plans for her husband. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie version of the famed Shakespeare play is directed by little know Australian director Justin Kurzel (his brother Jed composes an outstanding orchestral score, and I noticed in the movie's end credits that Justin is credited with playing the drums in the score). Kurzel gives us a very stylish and visual interpretation of the play, with stunning photography from start to finish, pure eye-candy, The early battle scene is nothing short of epic, with at times ultra slow-motion photography for further effect. Michael Fassbender, whom we just saw recently as Steve Jobs, now incarnates MacBeth, and he brings a heartfelt performance. Is there anything this guy can't do? His list of recent performances is nothing short of daunting (MacBeth, Steve Jobs, Frank, 12 Years A Slave, Shame, and of course X-Men). He is one of this generation's leading actors, period. The minute Lady MacBeth comes onto the screen, I thought to myself 'this face is familiar'. It wasn't until 10 or 15 minutes later that I suddently realized "holy cow, it is Marion Cottilard!". She plays Lady MacBeth without any trace whatsoever of a French accent, in perfect English. It is nothing short of stunning to see her incorporate Lady MacBeth (check out her monologue late into the movie, as she is tortured with guilt and shame, it will leave you in tears). Speaking of language: it took me a good 10-15 minutes to get used to the early 17th century English language of Shakespeare's era, and even then, I will readily admit that quite a few of the lines simply bypassed me. If the DVD version comes with subtitles, you probably will want to take advantage of that. The movie was shot on location in England and Scotland. Have the Scottish highlands looked ever more beautiful? And the use of the spectecular Banburgh Castle will leave you in awe. Bottom line: eve if you are not a fan of Shakespeare as such, you will likely be taken in by this latest adaptation, if nothing else by the photography and the lead performances from Fassbender and Cotillard.

"MacBeth" opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The early evening screening where I saw this at on Friday evening was attended quite well, frankly to my surprise, as I had figured that demand for this kind of movie would be limited. But I'm glad that I was wrong on that account. If you are in the mood for a highly stylish interpretation of "MacBeth" that features stunning performances from the lead actor and actress, you cannot go wrong with this. "MacBeth" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Well, it was gorgeous - but utterly misguided. The actors did everything they could, but everything but the cinematography was against them from the start. Changes sometimes improve a stage play's transition to the screen ... but most of the changes here either served to dumb down or dilute the language, or rendered much of the plot pointless. Example: Macbeth, or rather Lady Macbeth, makes the decision to kill the King /before/ he designates his heir? Ludicrous.

And why were fifty percent of the lines whispered, and another forty spoken just above a whisper? A line like "Ring the alarum bell" or "Turn, hell hound" is just kind of silly when it's mumbled...

This is not a version of the play for anyone new to Shakespeare - but it's even more not for fans. Maybe on in the background with the sound muted ... that might work ... What a shame.

So...sadly, very, very sadly...the film we've been waiting so long to see was a horrible disappointment.

The new film version of Macbeth, with Michael Fassbender in the lead role and Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth, had such hype in our household. And we sought long and hard to find it in the theatres; alas, to no avail...until Amazon Prime put it up just this past week.

THE GOOD: The cinematography was absolutely stunning. I had no idea the British Isles could look like THAT. The epic wide shots of fen, moor, and snow-capped peaks were as impressive as the shots of dune and desert in Laurence of Arabia.

The sets were incredible too. It was definitely more of a small, regional chiefdoom look, rather than a lush kingdom. It was dirty, raw, wet, and rotting: all wood and vegetation and rope and mud. Once Macbeth was crowned king though, we moved to Dunsinane, into an enormous medieval castle. The tonal shift was jarring and it worked.

THE BAD: The acting! Oh, good God, the acting! Everyone--EVERYONE!--had the "whispering intensity." No dynamic range. Everyone--women included--had the same gruff, whispering tone. It ended up feeling lifeless and dull. And most sad of all...it was utterly humorless. (There's a great reason to keep the Porter scene that opens Act 2, Scene 3.)

The costumes were monochromatic and boring. Everyone looked the same...so much so that it was hard to tell characters apart.
After the coronation, the movie DID get a little better, in terms of acting. The character of Macduff was a highlight in a sea of grimdark gloomy darkness, but even he succumbed to the "whispering intensity" in the end.

Also, the final battle was done in nothing but orange and blacks. There was not enough contrast to see everything that was going on. AND what should've been an epic sword-fight with a great ending turned into an epic sword-fight with a lackluster conclusion.
So disappointed with this production...