Macbeth

Shakespearean film adaptations used to fall into two groups – academically respectful and faithful to the source material (Branagh) or hysterically out of touch (Romeo+Juliet, O). But so far no one has come up with such an autonomous audiovisual treatment that envelops the entire plot in its own enclosed world of heather, fog, and smoke. Macbeth is filled with formalist shortcuts, the language of the original play is spoken by the characters, thus gaining impenetrability, and the insistent stylization culminates in a surreal conclusion that is essentially the greatest creative license over the play. It is here that Kurzel's ability to not only create images, but more importantly to think within them, can be seen. Sean Harris, in turn, steals the show. The nominations should have been flying here. I was in raptures for the entire running time. PS: I think, ironically, the greatest enjoyment of the film will be had by those who know little or nothing about Macbeth. PPS: great soundtrack! (23/02/2016)

Even in Macbeth, Justin Kurzel can indulge in what fascinated him in Snowtown - a moral vacuum that arises around extremely ambivalent characters, torn apart by violence and manipulation. Of course, in collaboration with Adam Arkapaw, he powerfully uses the rugged Scottish landscape as a mirror of the inhospitable interior of the two main actors, who (filmed mainly in relentless detail) form the magnetizing center of the adaptation. The Macbeth couple and their gradual decline into madness usurps almost all of the space, and if the actor doesn't have the talent to play in a small area with a fascinating intensity like Sean Harris, he's out of luck. It's not a bad thing, because Fassbender and Cotillard act with an intensity that easily withstands the uncompromising choice of detail and faithfulness to the original’s language, although the strongest moment is when Macbeth sheds a “tear of madness" in the middle of a wordless scene. Kurzel chooses a gloomy, very slow tempo, which in the middle finds itself in the stereotypical arrangements of monologues / protagonist dialogues (an obvious screenplay defect), but for most of the rest of the runtime, it is only thanks to the fascinating interplay of Arkapaw's eye and the ears of Justin's brother-composer Jed that the film holds a very intense charge. The battle scenes are on the verge of Refnov mannerism, but for me they fit into the overall tone of "naturalistic lyricism". Yes, Branagh's blasé attitude breaks under the dictates of darkness, and even the BBC cycle The Crown feels airy compared to Kurzel's adaptation. In some ways, Macbeth is very close to the controversial but captivating adaptation of Andrey Arnold's Wuthering Heights. He also seeks in the classics the forgotten taste of blood, the smell of sweat and the slime of mud. And he won me over. [80%] (24/10/2015)

The best adaptation of Shakespeare for a really long time. Visually captivating, gloomy Scottish hills and verses interlaced with madness and fears. Fassbender as Macbeth and Marion Cotillard as his wife give their very best. Ambition, power, women. The age-old danger of temptation of a good man. If he succumbs, he will be damned. (02/02/2016)

I can't help but think that if I had seen this film first, it probably wouldn't compel me to watch Shakespearean tragedies in the theater. It has everything this play should have, but at the same time, it's so incredibly unpleasant to watch that I didn't enjoy looking at it, despite the presence of my favorite actors. (22/02/2016)

A raw and bleak hypnotic film that will forever remain out of the mainstream. Audience-averse and psychedelic, the film lyrically tells the story of Shakepeare's warrior exclusively through breathtaking cinematography, lighting and period music. Forget about a wartime historical spectacle or crowd scenes, the Kurzel brothers have gone all out. There are only a few action scenes, and most of them are shrouded in a mysterious misty shroud, or thanks to the aforementioned lighting work that creates countless breathtaking shots. The individuality of this film is impossible to deny. What is debatable, however, is to what extent this is an appropriate form of presentation of Shakespeare's legend, as in many aspects of the plot and in terms of the flow of the story, it is questionable to say the least and difficult to digest. (09/11/2015)