MOVIE REVIEW: MACBETH

Shane | 23 September 2015 | Reply

MOVIE REVIEW: MACBETH
Directed by Justin Kurzel
Starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Daniel Thewliss
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
7 1/2 /10

Every so often a film comes along that is so incredibly rich in its artistry, but so dense and impenetrable as to be difficult to watch.

Justin Kurzel should be congratulated for his cinematography and direction, and coaxing incredible performances from his leads, and indeed, the entire cast of this retread of Shakespeare’s famous Scottish play from the turn of the 17th century. It’s hard to tear one’s eyes from the screen as the loyal Scottish laird Macbeth, played by a stunning Michael Fassbender, receives a prophecy from three witches that he shall be king, and proceeds to murder his King (David Thewliss), spurred on by his ambitious and manipulative wife, played by Marion Cotillard.

Ascendng to the throne most brutally, Macbeth is tormented by his malicious deeds, which multiply as he slaughters any threat to his kingship, no matter how imagined, and quickly descends into madness whilst all around civil war rages.

Mired in gloom as dark as the cloudy skies featured above the Scottish heaths the action revolves around, a near-total absence of natural light, and a thickly accented script of Shakespeare’s original text, Kurzel’s Macbeth is a bleak and joyless affair, not helped by its plodding pace.

We’re well aware of both the importance of the play itself, and the technical brilliance on the screen, but in this case it all adds up to less than the sum of its parts.