Adapting one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies is a
daunting proposition when you consider that some of film’s most celebrated
directors — from Akira Kurosawa to Orson Welles and Roman Polanski — have
delivered their own masterful spins on the twisted tale of the ambitious
general Macbeth. Undeterred, Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel, making only
his second feature after “The Snowtown Murders,” delivers an oppressively bleak
take on the familiar tale. Though purists may revolt at the liberties taken
with the text (the film occasionally feels like a CliffsNotes adaptation of the
play), the results are frequently captivating.
Many
directors feel the need to recontextualize or modernize Shakespeare, but Kurzel
avoids that temptation, and sets the action in a straightforward depiction of ye olde Scotland. Macbeth (played by Michael Fassbender) is
a powerful general and war hero after defending the kingdom from rebellion.
Still fresh off his success on the battlefield, he receives
a tantalizing prophecy from three witches who tell him that he’s destined to
become king. Macbeth is given a push to expedite the process by his Lady
(Marion Cotillard), who convinces him to slay the benevolent reigning King
Duncan (David Thewlis), putting into motion a bloody cycle of violence and
betrayal as Macbeth sets about murdering every man, woman, and child who may
stand in his way.
The play’s
text has been stripped down to the essentials, streamlining the action but keeping
those famous soliloquies: “Out damned spot” and “All the world’s a stage” all
appear, though you won’t hear the witches “double, double” incantation (a side
effect of those characters given slightly less prominence in this version). The
script is credited to a trio of screenwriters (Todd Louiso, Jacob Koskoff, and
Michael Lesslie), and they maintain Shakespeare’s original language, so anyone
who had trouble in 10th grade English class might want to at least give the
Wikipedia page a quick scan before heading out to the theater.
This version
adds in some extra motivation for the scheming pair, as we learn that Macbeth
and his wife have lost a child, whose funeral opens the movie. Macbeth’s legacy
has been cruelly taken from him, and the lack of an heir has left them both
desperate for a way to secure their future. The theme of parenthood is
furthered in the film’s depiction of the “weird sisters,” here shown carrying a
young child and a baby with them. The focus on the characters’ offspring adds
an extra dimension to the text, emphasizing the ways that quests for vengeance
has a way of being passed onto the children, and the cycles of violence continue
on with each new generation.
Cotillard’s
Lady Macbeth is less fearsomely manipulative than often depicted, and more
quickly troubled by the monster she’s created in spurring her husband to
action. It’s typical of Cotillard’s understated portrayal that her biggest
moment is delivered in a whisper. Fassbender’s Macbeth seems even less in
command, seeming bewildered as he’s swept up in circumstances that are beyond
his control. He and Cotillard expertly capture the pair’s descent into paranoia
and madness, but never give in to the temptation to go over-the-top with it. As
they grow increasingly plagued by a guilt, it’s clear that while they may have
a head for betrayal, they don’t have the stomach. The supporting cast is
top-notch, particularly Paddy Considine as Macbeth’s doomed best friend,
Banquo, and Sean Harris as MacDuff.
The film is
bookended by battles (the first is only referred to in the original play), and Kurzel
opts for a “Game of Thrones”-esque physicality and verisimilitude, with blood
and mud flying at the camera in a brutal tableau of medieval warfare. It’s a
modern take on combat that thankfully avoids hordes of computer-generated men
running toward one another. The rather amelodic, string-heavy score by the director’s
brother, Jed Kurzel, adds an unsettling sense of foreboding. The gorgeous, oversaturated
cinematography from Adam Arkapaw (who worked on the first season of HBO’s “True
Detective”) is the film’s true star: the final combat sequence is jaw-dropping,
as Arkapaw swathes the entire battle in shades of red and orange. The use of
real Scotland locations is especially effective.
As
adaptation, this new “Macbeth” lands somewhere in the middle of Orson Welles’
stark expressionism, Polanski’s ostentatious brutality, and Kurosawa’s
minimalism. Kurzel’s “Macbeth” is somber, moody, and quieter than expected (I
wasn’t alone in expecting more bombast, judging by the soft snoring drifting up
from the row behind me at my showing). We’ve seen this story before, but the
remarkable performances and bravura more than justify its existence.
This article appears in Dec 16-22, 2015.
