★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
‘Starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard’ is a
tagline prepped for selling a movie all by itself, but when paired with the
most renowned of Shakespeare’s stories there’s miniscule scope for complaint.
Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth sees the tale
of a Scottish general and the machinations of his ambitious wife through fresh
eyes, which seems to be the standard for contemporary Shakespeare adaptations: Luhrmann’s
Romeo + Juliet took slipped into the
skin of a teen drama, Coriolanus took
up arms as an action movie, and now Macbeth
saddles the eponymous Scot with PTSD.
Kurzel and co. take Macbeth (Fassbender) and his decision to
overthrow the sitting King Duncan (David Thewlis) as the work of a man roped
back into violence just as he believes himself free from bloodshed. The words
of the witches, his wife (Cotillard) and even his peers are seen as emotional
manipulation, while the guilt of his subsequent action manifests itself in
life-like visions and night terrors.
Heck no, this ain’t your schoolteacher’s pristine textbook
copy of Macbeth. Kurzel’s manuscript
is a dog-eared, blood and vomit-stained one that’s seen its fair share of rainy
days and muddy puddles. That makes it sound ugly, but anyone who’s been given
the barest glimpse of even the trailer will know that the very opposite is true:
even on the misaligned, slightly out of focus screen on which I saw it, Macbeth is visually flawless. Sweeping
landscapes ooze and burn, the clouds convulse and the wind visibly bites. All
are the mere backdrop to battle sequences of serious verve and unforgettable
monologues that demonstrate why they survive countless interpretations.
A ‘show, don’t tell’ approach to Shakespeare can only get
you so far: Kurzel’s retelling splices glorious murder-on-the-moors with one or
two wordy passages that don’t always lend themselves well to this particular
interpretation; those not acquainted with The Bard’s work will find these
moments difficult, but should be comforted by the enormously engrossing range
of performances.
Fassbender is on usual strong form, if a little held back by
his own mumbling at times. Cotillard is – as is usually the case – the true
star of the film, her eyes swallowing you as the ageless words of Lady Macbeth roll
from her serpent tongue. Jack Reynor more than makes up for his dismal turn in Transformers as Malcolm and Paddy
Considine is on fine, gravelly form as Banquo. Sean Harris is riveting as
Macduff, and holds his own against heavyweight Fassbender even in the
tumultuous and stunning finale.
Even those who know the play by heart (who perhaps decry the
certain excisions made in the name of screenwriting) and especially those who
don’t will find heaps to excite here. Hail Macbeth, Hail Macbeth indeed!
