Macbeth
classified 15Please note: This was screened in Nov 2015
Justin Kurzel, the no-punches-pulled Australian director of 2011 thriller Snowtown, brings his jaw-dropping, moody vision to Shakespeare’s bleakest tragedy of murderous ambition. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard have never been better as Macbeth and his infamous Lady, and any traces of stage-bound stuffiness have been ripped out by their guts, the original text radically cut down and revised.
A lean, mean and powerful piece of cinema, this Macbeth is blistering and bloody, all looming Scottish mountains (it was filmed in Skye and retains its 11th Century setting), blockbuster battle scenes and stunning cinematography (from True Detective DOP Adam Arkapaw). Critics have gone so far as to say this is as good as Shakespeare on film gets, and who are we to argue? This is Macbeth forged in iron, blood, and fire, and its visceral energy desperately needs to be experienced on the big screen.