Review of Macbeth (2015) by Dietrich B — 08 Oct 2015

The great Shakespearian actors of each generation invariably develop reputations as enormously hammy, and with good reason - this is a form of English that is no longer spoken, and it's dissimilar enough that its only understandable to those who haven't studied it intensively when augmented by an obviousness of meaning that borders on pantomime.

Here is what happens when actors go for "naturalistic" rather than playing to the back row. Fassbender and Cotillard may do quite well, but the lack of attention to meaning, and a mise-en-scene that not only makes Scotland look unrealistically non-picturesque but makes no attempt to differentiate one scene from the next, make this an easy one to nod off during.