Macbeth (2015)

There have been many adaptations of William Shakespeare's famous play Macbeth but none as visually striking as Justin Kurzel's 2015 depiction with Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. Filmed upon the rugged Scottish countryside during bleak weather conditions, Kurzel's adaptation is a faithful retelling of the 1606 tragedy with minor adjustments to Shakespeare's words but how easy is this one to recommend to newcomers or is it best left to diehard fans of the playwright?

Fassbender stars as the war-weary Macbeth who has helped lead King Duncan's men into a successful battle to try and bring an end to the Scottish civil war during the 11th century, and the film follows his vicious yet costly rise to power alongside his wife, Lady Macbeth, played by Marion Cotillard. The film also stars David Thewlis as King Duncan, Paddy Considine as Banquo, Jack Reynor as Malcolm, Elizabeth Debicki as Lady Macduff and Sean Harris as Macduff. 

The biggest barrier when it comes to a film based on Shakespeare's work is the language and it can leave many lost in its wake. I remember studying this and several other plays from him at school and it took my brain a while to understand the meaning behind it all. The idea can seem daunting but once you cross that hurdle, it becomes all the more rewarding even if I occasionally had to put the subtitles on from time to time here. 

However, Kurzel's direction and the talented cast convey the story in a way that keeps this version of Macbeth as accessible as possible while trying to remain true to the source material. The film is also visually gorgeous even in its more darker moments and Jed Kurzel's score adds to the foreboding sense of melancholy as Macbeth descends into a pit of doom.

Justin Kurzel successfully manages to find the right balance between pleasing fans of the play while ensuring it will also entertain newcomers but it is of course not for everyone. An action epic this is not, the story is as bleak as the Scottish weather seen here and there is not even a Mercutio in sight to lighten the mood. Yet this is a very fine and engaging drama with fantastic performances from the two leads which makes it all the more of a shame that they would return with the director for the rather awful Assassin's Creed in 2016. A true tragedy indeed.