Review of Macbeth (2015) by Matt C — 26 Feb 2016

As a person that read Macbeth once two and a half years ago for school and absolutely loved it, I squealed with joy when I found out that there was an adaptation in the works starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.

As two of the best actors working today, I was rather confident that they'd pull off the depiction of their characters. What I had little expectation for, however, was the direction of the film. Being completely ignorant to Justin Kurzel's previous work, I'm happy to say that Macbeth--while not being the masterpiece that some seem to be making it seem to be--is aesthetic perfection with terrific acting throughout.

The screenplay's transition of the characters' relationships doesn't work one hundred percent, but the movie still maintains its source material's themes with hypnotic visuals and style to spare.

The first thing that stands out about Macbeth is how stylized it is. Stylized direction is a tricky feat to pull off as it can quickly devolve into obnoxious trickery used to mask its lack of substance, but Kurzel's steady hand allows for the use of slow motion, super saturated colors, and a bare-bones score to be the film's ultimate advantage.

I truly can't think of a better way to convey Macbeth in a visual sense. The landscape shots are gorgeous, the violence is candid and beautiful, the editing is cohesive, and the lighting is immersive.

If you're going to see this at all, see it in theaters; this might have the best cinematography of 2015. Likewise, the performances are very strong. Needless to say, Fassbender and Cotillard give magnetic performances.

Partly due to the direction and partly due to their utter talent, both are restrained, the tension growing from their periods of inaction. Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz, The World's End) also works really well as Banquo.

All of the actors do great justice to the dialogue, which is very much so unchanged--this is not at all a modernized Shakespeare adaption. What doesn't work as terrifically, however, is the structure of the film as an adaptation.

As mentioned before, the themes and arcs are very much so intact, but for the sake of having a movie that's under two hours (and surprisingly so, given its content and prestige factor), the screenplay exorcizes a fair amount of scenes that benefit the character relationships.

The fundamental friendship between Macbeth and Banquo is brushed over rather than fully explored, resulting in subsequent plot points to not be quite as effective as they could have. The performances are mostly what elevate the content, not necessarily the adaptation.

Also, the pacing is a little off at times, not because of the movie's completely grim tone, but because there's a sneaking suspicious that the filmmakers are going off of audiences' knowledge of the source material instead of fully developing the character arcs for themselves.

Overall, while Macbeth isn't the modern Shakespearean stroke of genius that its ten-minute standing ovation at Cannes may have implied, it's still really good, Fassbender and Cotillard proving their titles as some of the best actors working today.

Paired with Adam Arkapaw's cinematography that makes every shot a poster that could be framed and Kurzel's perfect sense of style, Macbeth proves itself to be a worthy and fittingly cinematic experience.

8.1/10, really good, one thumb up, above average, etc.