ALL HAIL.
After a battle that leaves Macbeth (Michael Fassbender) victorious in a Scottish civil war, he encounters three mysterious women who give him a powerful prophecy with deadly consequences… An adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic play that stays faithful to the original text and emphasizes the violence and tragedy of the drama every way it can. Bloody, solemn and sometimes even horrifying, the film might have gone overboard but maintains its firm grip thanks to cinematographer Adam Arkapaw’s majestic and evocative look, and superior performances, not least by the two leads who are convincing as two people bound to each other on a dark journey toward self-annihilation.
2015-Britain-France-U.S. 113 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Iain Canning, Laura Hastings-Smith, Emile Sherman. Directed by Justin Kurzel. Play: William Shakespeare. Cinematography: Adam Arkapaw. Cast: Michael Fassbender (Macbeth), Marion Cotillard (Lady Macbeth), Paddy Considine (Banquo), Sean Harris, Jack Reynor, Elizabeth Debicki… David Thewlis.
Trivia: Natalie Portman was allegedly first cast as Lady Macbeth.
Last word: “There’s this classic car crash thing about ‘Macbeth’. You can just see this car driving at 100 mph towards this brick wall, and you can’t do anything about it, and the characters are desperately trying to stop it and can’t. I was watching a lot of ‘Breaking Bad’ and, it was really interesting, it had a similar character who had a similar feel about him. You knew it was going to end poorly, but you just couldn’t take your eyes off it. So I think the idea of characters dismantling themselves in that way has always intrigued me.” (Kurzel, Indiewire)
