Review of Macbeth (2015) by Farron K — 06 Mar 2017

3/5 Stars.

Macbeth: the story of how women are trouble. Dude is told by some women that he will be king, his wife says kill the king to prove you're a man, dude winds up with his head chopped off. This is the origin of "bros before hoes.".

Ultimately disappointing, though better than I expected in that it did use the actual Shakespeare dialogue rather than be a "dramatization", as the back of the box implied. That said, it was significantly abridged. My favorite line with Macbeth and the witches was entirely cut out. Too much of the film relies on special effects, and the revision of Lady Macbeth's death was anti-climactic. Macbeth's holdings consisting of a church and some tents also struck me as bizarre, though I guess somewhat plausible. One thing that struck me as odd was the need to insert sex into two scenes where, as I recall, there was none in the play. Though I guess modern audiences demand everything resemble Game of Thrones now.

Some positive things: Fassbender as Macbeth was decent, though his portrayal was much more on the "I'm Macbeth and I'm batshit insane" track than other depictions. Paddy Considine was perfection as Banquo and deserves way more work. Marion Cotillard was good as Lady Macbeth up till the point at which she starts to regret her actions; partly a problem with the abridged script, it comes pretty much out of nowhere.

Overall, a pale imitation of the masterpiece that is Roman Polanski's Macbeth. Though, that can be forgiven, as Polanski paid for his art by having his entire family murdered during filming. Tough act to follow. The starker horror, more medieval look, and faithfulness to the original play make Polanski's much the superior, though this one is worth a watch for comparison.