Macbeth review

Title: Macbeth
Director: Justin Kurzel
Cast: Michael Fassbender
          Marion Cotillard
          David Thewlis
          Paddy Considine
Certificate: 15
Run time: 131 minutes

Review:
Shakespeare's classic tale of greed, guilt and murder is brought back onto our screens in bloody spectacular fashion in the form of a blood soaked war movie. Many may shun this film given the context (many cannot be bothered with thee and thou), but believe me it is worth it.

The plot is simple; Macbeth, a brave and fearsome warrior murders the King, Duncan, and from there shit hits the fan as stress of royalty and guilt begin to settle in. Curiously, most adaptations of the play had been quick to blame the character of Lady Macbeth for her husbands decision to kill his King, but here she is sort of sidelined as a major cause and is replaced by that of the prophecy of the three witches taking centre stage to light a selfish flame in our films pro/antagonist.

Firstly, and unusually for me, I am going to discuss the cinematography and editing of this film first.... HOLY SHIT! This film is an absolute marvel to look at, every shot could be put on a canvas and I would hang it up with pride. To call the aesthetic of this film beautiful would be insulting to it; it is by far one of the most stylish period dramas of all time, and an easy contender for the best cinematography Oscar. As for the editing, Kurzel has appeared to have taken a leaf out of Zack Snyder's book with the battle sequences as the action abruptly, but in a good way, cuts in and out of slow motion. Not done so much in a seamless fashion ala 300, but more to accentuate the brutality of war and for the sheer fact that it just looks fucking cool.

The performances in the film are absolutely perfect (especially from Fassbender and Cotillard, who will most likely be looking at best actor and supporting actress nominations, respectively). As I had stated earlier the character of Lady Macbeth is somewhat sidelined but that doesn't stop Cotillard from giving an emotionally driven (yet at times extremely cold) performance as one of the instigators of Macbeth's rage.

The supporting cast is just as impressive with Paddy Considine's portrayal of Banquo being particularly memorable. His performance brings a sense of vulnerability and fragility to a film that seems delightfully bleak. Sean Harris (who was also fairly impressive as the villain of the latest mission: impossible film) gives another great performance as MacDuff, although despite her limited screen time it is Man From U.N.C.L.E's Elizabeth Diebecki who gets the most disturbing sequence in the film as Lady Macduff (you'll know which moment I am referring to if you have either seen the film or read the play).

In the end Macbeth is an incredibly bleak but spectacular take on the play, anchored down by the best visuals of the year and some truly exceptional performances. Possibly the best Shakespeare adaptation I have ever seen.

9/10