Macbeth
13/10/15 Filed in: Cinema
I'm a bit behind with my film reviews. We actually saw Macbeth last week. It was my choice as I fancied something a bit more serious than the average drama. Well, I certainly got that, but I'm not sure I was ready for it.
It's an incredibly atmospheric film, superbly acted. The problem, for me anyway, was that I hadn't read Macbeth, and the Shakespearian prose combined with the Scottish accents actually made it difficult for me to follow the dialogue at many points. Marion Cotillard plays Lady Macbeth, and it says something that this French actress was arguably easier to understand than the Scottish ones.
The film starts with a battle and ends with one, both depicted to show the brutality of hand to hand combat in those days. A long way from remotely controlled drones! The victorious Macbeth probably suffered what we would now call post traumatic stress and this results in actions that even the scheming Lady Macbeth finds hard to stomach. The 'three sisters', the witches, are seemingly forever present in his consciousness, and their prophecies turn out to be unnervingly accurate, although one could argue that Macbeth's fear of these prophecies led in a way to them being self-fulfilling.
It's an incredibly atmospheric film, superbly acted. The problem, for me anyway, was that I hadn't read Macbeth, and the Shakespearian prose combined with the Scottish accents actually made it difficult for me to follow the dialogue at many points. Marion Cotillard plays Lady Macbeth, and it says something that this French actress was arguably easier to understand than the Scottish ones.
The film starts with a battle and ends with one, both depicted to show the brutality of hand to hand combat in those days. A long way from remotely controlled drones! The victorious Macbeth probably suffered what we would now call post traumatic stress and this results in actions that even the scheming Lady Macbeth finds hard to stomach. The 'three sisters', the witches, are seemingly forever present in his consciousness, and their prophecies turn out to be unnervingly accurate, although one could argue that Macbeth's fear of these prophecies led in a way to them being self-fulfilling.
I would say that this is a film for people who have read Macbeth and are interested in the interpretation offered. That's not to say that this is a prerequisite, but I'm sure it would add greatly to the viewing experience. It's serious stuff.