By Paulette Reynolds * October 13, 2020
Macbeth
2015
Director: Justin Kurzel
Screenplay: Jacob Koskoff, Michael Lesslie, Todd Louiso
Based on Macbeth by Shakespeare
Starring Michael Fassbender/Macbeth, Marion Cotillard/Lady Macbeth, Paddy Considine/Banquo, Sean Harris/ Macduff, Jack Reynor/Malcolm, Elizabeth Debicki/Lady Macduff, David Thewlis/King Duncan, Seylan Mhairi Baxter, Lynn Kennedy, Kayla Fallon, Amber Rissmann/the Witches, Lochlann Harris/Fleance, Scott Dymond/Seyton
2015
Director: Justin Kurzel
Screenplay: Jacob Koskoff, Michael Lesslie, Todd Louiso
Based on Macbeth by Shakespeare
Starring Michael Fassbender/Macbeth, Marion Cotillard/Lady Macbeth, Paddy Considine/Banquo, Sean Harris/ Macduff, Jack Reynor/Malcolm, Elizabeth Debicki/Lady Macduff, David Thewlis/King Duncan, Seylan Mhairi Baxter, Lynn Kennedy, Kayla Fallon, Amber Rissmann/the Witches, Lochlann Harris/Fleance, Scott Dymond/Seyton
As a devotee of the Shakespearean Hamlet, his Scottish cousin has repeatedly failed to cast a spell over me. The tale lacks any backstory, which irks me so much that all film treatments - yes, even the Orson Welles version - has left me exasperated. But it's easy to get lost in Macbeth 2015, with its captivating cinematography (an homage to Mel Gibson’s Braveheart and Kurosawa) and Michael Fassbender's single-minded performance. The sensory power of this Macbeth charmed me into a believer.
From the eery landscape slashed with bloody violence, to Fassbender's warped ambition, Macbeth fast-tracks into madness and we can't help but be fascinated.
Maria Cotillard surprises, too, with her normally whiny voice subdued into the silky tones of Lady Macbeth. However, her final monologue is spoiled by framing her as a reformed madonna, bathed in light, ready to join her dead child (a useless plot point added at the whim of the writers).
Alas, Kurzel's decisions regarding the three Wyrd Sisters spoils the magical symmetry of the historical Shakespearean classic: The number three has always been associated with occult forces, so adding a fourth witch and making them prophetic phantoms undercuts the fearsome pact they make with Macbeth. And omitting the iconic 'cauldron' song erases the greedy general's initial complicity, because their spell was cast by Macbeth's secret desire for Duncan's crown.
Still, it's a happy day when I can add a Macbeth to my list of favorite Shakespearean films!
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