Macbeth 2015.
Directed by Justin Kurzel.
Starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, David Thewlis, Sean Harris, Elizabeth Debicki, Jack Reynor and Paddy Considine.
SYNOPSIS:
Macbeth, a duke of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
I’m assuming that when acclaimed Australian auteur Justin Kurzel chose to pull no punches by unleashing a 100% Shakespearean filled dialogue adaptation of Macbeth upon us, he knew he needed a counterweight to rope in a more mainstream audience, which are the stunning battles and visuals accentuated by masterful cinematography. Or, maybe he just didn’t really give a fuck and made the Macbeth movie he wanted to make.
Either way, the dialogue on display here is as foreign as receiving advice from a Microsoft customer support representative (hey, those Xbox 360s had a ridiculously high failure rate); if you asked me to recite anything but the most basic plot points of the film (which I only know based on the play being part of my high school curriculum) I couldn’t tell you a damn thing. It’s the fact that the dialect is fed to you in riddles, coupled with some of the thickest Scottish accents known to Scotland, and the disadvantage of movies being constantly moving pictures that don’t allow you to go back and read something you may not understand or have interpreted accurately. All I could really tell you is that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were crazy ambitious for power, and schemed together on a killing spree that gave them royalty, but unfortunately, set in motion their spiral into insanity alongside their demise.
The specifics of each and every scene don’t wholly matter however when the gist is common knowledge, and you are bearing witness to some extremely talented direction, captivating performances, and one of the most visually stunning one-on-one swordplay battle scenes in quite some time. The backgrounds of the climactic final battle are doused entirely in an orange hue depicting the warriors as almost silhouettes while they slash the holy hell out of each other.
This battle (alongside a fairly epic war battle early on towards the beginning) are also heightened in effect thanks to a blaring original score. When Macbeth is entertaining to watch, every essential element of quality filmmaking brilliantly comes together (direction, acting, cinematography, music, production design) making for an incredibly immersive experience.
The key word there however is “when”, as some of Macbeth can be completely frustrating to sit through thanks to Kurzel’s unwillingness to bend and make this at least even marginally able to grasp for anyone that doesn’t take pleasure in reading William Shakespeare on a regular basis. It’s like handing your grandma a video game and being dumbfounded when they have no idea what’s going on, what the controls do, or how to even play. You’re just left nodding your head from scene to scene until something you do understand comes along, in which I will again admit that Macbeth is outstanding.
Michael Fassbender certainly throws himself into the role, as this version definitely takes on a bleaker tone honing in on the descent into madness aspects. One particularly well handled scene is when Macbeth starts angrily shouting, getting upset at the sight of the ghost of a comrade he murdered, which of course can only be seen by him and the audience. Michael Fassbender excels in the role in general, whether he is whispering classic soliloquies or raising his voice at various junctures.
Marion Cotillard also puts in serviceable work coming across as a conniving, wicked witch of a woman that further sets Macbeth on the path of treasonous glory, but her accent doesn’t really fall in line with the rest of the cast’s, making for some jarring moments. If nothing else, she definitely nails her most critical scenes, regarding water cleansing the body of the atrocities they commit.
Justin Kurzel does take some liberties with the material to set his Macbeth tale apart from the rest of the pack, and while some of it works, there is one element of his narrative juggling that comes across as baffling, and a bit out of place for the ruthless persona of Macbeth. When murdering King Duncan (a graphically bloody, ferocious depiction of the act that’s awesome), Duncan’s son is around to witness the carnage, but Macbeth oddly sets him free. It seems that someone as relentless for power, and highly determined to maintain it, would just kill the child too. He obviously has no morals; Macbeth is an entire play centered on horrible protagonists that are strangely likable.
A variation that does come across as effective however, is the actual burning of the forest as not only a battle strategy for those marching on Macbeth, but a nice thematic touch based on one of the witch’s prophecies. Naturally, this also makes for some beautiful scenery and environments. Most of Macbeth is shot on location, and you can’t help but marvel at every landscape shown. Whether it’s the image of Macbeth rising from a body of water, or still slow-motion frames during all-out war to capture the intensity of everyone raging along on the battlefield, Macbeth is stunning to look at.
Unfortunately, that cannot entirely mitigate a movie that most audiences will not understand, but to give Justin Kurzel credit where it’s due, the battles, the music, the performances, the clashing colors, and the overall production design are some of the best of the year. I have no doubts now that Kurzel, with much of this cast returning, will make Assassin’s Creed the first truly great video game adaptation (both critically and financially), proving that it is an untapped market waiting for a set of creative minds to take the material serious and create something artistic.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder – An aficionado of film, wrestling, and gaming. Follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=W04aXcyQ0NQ
Originally published October 26, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
