‘Life… is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing…’
Ahh the end of the summer holidays. As a teacher, I will be spending the next few days in a state of utter horror mingled with trepidation and sickening excitement. To quell this rising tide of emotion, I find it best to ensure that I am as prepared as possible for the challenges to come. I have bought a new lunchbox. My shirts are ironed. I’ve glanced at some lesson planning before hiding under the duvet and weeping. All the usual stuff. Another important technique is to trick my brain into thinking that I’m doing something productive when actually I’m just watching films alongside the cat again. And so, to Macbeth…
Macbeth (Michael Fassbender) is a noble and brave warrior who forgets all of that in about thirty seconds when a trio of strange women suggest that he might have what it takes to become king. After enlisting the help of his wife – the imaginatively titled Lady Macbeth (Marion Cotillard) – Macbeth dispatches everyone that stands in his way, including, but not limited to: King Duncan (David Thewlis), Banquo (Paddy Considine) and a variety of women and children. Only the brave Macduff (Sean Harris) can save Scotland and crown the rightful king.
As expected, director Justin Kurzel takes a number of liberties with the source material, most of which pay off. A subplot around the death of a child adds an extra layer of emotional resonance, and the decision to actually show the battle that traditionally kicks off the play is a justified flourish, but the performances are sometimes lacking. I love Paddy Considine, but he is strangely subdued as Banquo. Indeed, there is a layer of ennui throughout the entire cast which sees a sleepy Lady Macbeth and a barely conscious King Duncan. Sean Harris fares better as Macduff, being his usual terrifying self, and Fassbender is wonderful in the titular role, but there is an aching feeling that this has all been done before, and done better. Cinematically, I mean. Cotillard’s flat portrayal had me longing for Kate Fleetwood’s wild eyed, manic turn as Lady M in the Patrick Stewart adaptation, although the smoky hue and fiery colour palette do at least ensure that this version of Macbeth is visually on point.
In the end, this is a solid, if unspectacular retelling of the Scottish play and one that will probably be surpassed when the next up and coming director takes a stab at it in the next decade or so. And I’ll bloody well watch that one too.