Macbeth

Director: Justin Kurzel
Writers: Jacob Koskoff, Michael Lesslie
Stars:  Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jack Madigan
Strengths: Acting, Cinematography
Weakness: Violent Scenes, A bit cerebral
Runtime: 113 minutes
Rating: 4/5

Plot: Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, 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.

Review: There have been many adaptions of Shakespeare's Macbeth so what, you may ask, is all the fuss with this new one. Plenty really, but we will gloss over that later. 

The story is a near complete recreation of Shakespeare's iconic play. However, there are minor bits and pieces missing, but that really doesn't take anything away from the story. Also, in almost all renditions of the Macbeths, they are portrayed as ambitious or power-hungry. In this film though, they are portrayed as damaged because the very first scene shows Macbeth laying oyster shells over the eyes of his dead son: an eerie funeral rite before the tiny body is burned on a pyre. Untethered by grief, ambition fills the void, as Lady Macbeth lures her husband into dark places, manipulating him into murdering the king. 

The cinematography, special effects, locations, props and costumes deserve a mention here because they really do transport you to the place you previously had to imagine hard to be in when you read the play. The slow-motion shots of the battlefield were truly a stroke of genius.

It's becoming increasingly hard to find a movie that Fassbender isn't in on, and this movie is a clear example of why. It almost seems like he was born for the role of Macbeth. The way he portrays certain emotionally demanding scenes are probably some of the best in recent cinema history. This same credit goes to his co-star and on-screen wife Marion Cotillard. She pulls off the role of Lady Macbeth in the same finesse as Fassbender and creates the perfect conspiring combo. Even the final mental breakdown of Lady Macbeth was pulled off well.

While everything about the movie is top-notch, I don't think it's for all types of audiences. First off, the language; it seems they decided to go with Shakespearean for the dialogues. Also for the sake of authenticity, they didn't go with unnecessary scenes of battle or anything else to keep audiences hooked. The way I see it, this is either a movie you will love, or wont; there is no maybe, but you know what, that's perfectly fine.  

Reviewed by Intisab Shahriyar