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| Michael Fassbender as Macbeth |
All hail Macbeth. If you like your Shakespeare down and dirty, then the visceral, well-acted new version of his classic tragedy "Macbeth," boldly directed by Australian Justin Kurzel will be right up your alley. Purists may not like it, and no it's not something Olivier or Orson Welles would've approved of, but it's the most accessible Shakespeare film version seen in years proving to be much less stagey and stodgy than these adaptations can come across as. After murdering King Duncan (David Thewlis) and seizing the throne with the help of his wife (Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard), Macbeth (Michael Fassbender) becomes consumed with guilt and paranoia as the tyrannical ruler of Scotland. Gritty and bloody, the entertaining "Macbeth" is a mesmerizing experience, with terrific performances from the Fassbender and Cotillard as the ambitious but guilt-ridden king and his scheming wife; this version, co-written by Jacob Koskoff, Michael Lesslie and Todd Louiso, is faithful to Shakespeare's source material ("The Tragedy of Macbeth") and is spoken in modern English rather than the usual King's English, yet it still has a genuine feel to it, given it was filmed on location in Scotland. You can practically feel the cold and blood dripping from the actors faces from the violent, "Braveheart"-style opening to equally bloody, tragic climax, all done with some cinematic flair by director Kurzel, in his first major screen offering. "Macbeth" is a compelling, stylized look at the damage that political ambition and power can give: Macbeth and his Lady were once the power couple, but their machinations finally did them in. As with any stylized, bold offering some of it's uneven and not everything works well (does everything have to be covered in blood and dirt?). It's relevancy is underscored by the upcoming U.S. Presidential election: anyone named Clinton, Bush, Trump should take a look at "Macbeth" on what not to do while in power.
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