This latest adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth stars Michael Fassbender as the titular Thane of Glamis. For those unfamiliar with the play, Macbeth begins the story victorious in battle, having defeated a traitor to King Duncan (David Thewlis). Following the battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo encounters witches, and they are told that Macbeth will be king and Banquo will be father to a line of kings. Fueled by these promises and the insistent prodding of his ambitious wife (Marion Cotillard), Macbeth seizes the throne through murder, and soon discovers the price that one must pay for such treachery.
The film’s particular interpretation of the story presents Macbeth as a man without ambition, much of his spirit taken away by the death of his child. And then the battle against Macdonwald has him leading young men unprepared for battle to their deaths. Macbeth has already lost his soul, and only finds purpose in battle. The prophecy fuels him with something else: the promise of the crown. And then Lady Macbeth steps in and stokes the flame of Macbeth’s ambition, pushing him to do the things that must be done to let destiny takes its course, only to regret it later as she watches her husband grow mad.
It is not the most imaginative take on the text, but it is a reasonable distillation of what this story is. Already the leanest of Shakespeare’s plays, this adaptation distills it even further, keeping the focus tight on Macbeth and his wife and the violence that comes to surround them. Some of the nuance is lost in the process, but there is merit to this approach given the limitations of cinema. It must always feel a little strange to have to edit Shakespeare, the text being so central to the experience. But the movie makes up for the losses in other ways.
This is a gorgeous looking film. What lapses it might have caused in cutting down the text, it fills in with visual aplomb. Cinema’s strength is in visual storytelling, after all, and this adaptation uses every last inch of the frame to give shape to the various struggles that the characters are going through. The film largely takes place in cold, muddy environs, the beauty of the language offset by the grunginess of the surroundings. This is an unforgiving land, and it holds to reason that these men must do terrible things in order to survive.
But there are moments of odd beauty as well, like the climactic clash that takes place amidst orange haze, or the depictions of Macbeth’s descent into madness as king. And through it all, the performances are just plain amazing. Michael Fassbender plots out a complete journey from Macbeth, coming from silent mourning and traveling into the realm of treacherous ambition. And Marion Cotillard is absolutely magnetic as Lady Macbeth, the actress just owning the entire film in the first few scenes that she’s in. There are no holes in the supporting cast, either. David Thewlis as Duncan and Paddy Considine as Banquo are winning choices by any reckoning.
This isn’t the most imaginative version of Macbeth, but it is probably one of the easiest to watch. The film cuts the story down to its very core, and creates a pretty accessible version of the tragedy. The local release is also screened with English subtitles, so those fearing that they won’t understand the language are further helped out. This is a pretty great introduction to this amazing work, and though it could certainly tried out some more interesting things, there is always value to bringing Shakespeare’s text to the world at large.
My Rating:
