Macbeth (2015)

Being made to study the Scottish play in School, I had always hoped one day it would come in handy, and on this occasion finally it did. I didn't think i'd be going to the Cinema to see Macbeth, but what a pleasant and rewarding surprise.

The story and plot are well known, so it falls on the two leads Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard to bring the goods, both do they!! Fantastic performances from both, he is outstanding, strong, powerful, charismatic, when he is on the screen, you watch! Cotillard too, she was just so good, she made Lady M very believable, so manipulative.

Great performances from the supporting cast too, Sean Harris in particular, that guy has got something.

The locations were superb, beautiful and hugely dramatic, so fitting to the big production.

The music was excellent, I loved it, I'm not sure if it was the Cinema's issue, but on a few occasions the dialogue seemed muffled, and was difficult to make out.

Excellent, 9/10

Fmovies: The world of William Shakespeare can be a tricky road to navigate, especially if you are not educated in his tediously difficult language that arrogantly lies in waiting, sprawled across the pages of his many plays. If you are neither a Thespian or English Literature Graduate (which I am clearly not), you will struggle to understand the famous playwrights narrative. It just might be easier to learn French or German at the local community college than it is to painfully study what Shakespeare is actually trying to say. I have seen just a handful of the Elizabethan era writers work; the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar and the very puzzling comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Each time I came away scratching my head, my feeble brain trying its best to piece together the events that had actually taken place. Through all the confusion, I still found myself enjoying the fragments of dialogue and story that made sense to me. This is why I was drawn to another of Shakespeare's great tragedies, even though I knew I would be sitting through nearly two hours of theatre without the use of subtitles.

Macbeth is a well known story of ambition, murder, rage and tyranny but what I was looking for in Justin Kurzel's interpretation was a connection that an uneducated sloth like myself could get from a tale that had four hundred years of retelling. I wanted to feel the characters emotions and I wanted to visualise their world. I wanted to be able to identify Macbeth's tragic blind ambition and lust for power. More importantly, I wanted a tangible belief in the story being presented to me.

Kurzel knows his audience well because he has directed one of the greatest Shakespearean plays ever put onto film. The brutal and bloody world that Kurzel has visioned, creates an authentic and powerful atmosphere that never deserts the viewer, allowing the famous story to illustrate itself effortlessly across the screen. Half the battle is won. Accompanied by an outstandingly appropriate score sets the scene for a film that would not look out of place amongst the very best movie releases this year. The eerie and sombre acoustics help keep the audience fixed to their seats as the savage tragedy of Macbeth unfolds in all its brutal glory.

Michael Fassbender (Macbeth), plays the character to perfection and it is his performance alone that makes it easier for the common man to understand Shakespeare's historic language. Fassbender is thoroughly engaged in his role and every word he delivers oozes emotion. Marion Cotillard is equally impressive as the conniving Lady Macbeth. Cotillard was an interesting choice to play the femme fatal, but she has proved here that she can rise to any challenge. This performance is a very colourful feather in a exceptional cap. Her Lady Macbeth helped me to realise that she became somewhat of a victim to the King she had created. "What is done, is done." I am quite sure that she didn't envisage her warrior husband to become the tyrant that he became. Adding to the list of superb performances is Sean Harris, the vengeful and savage Macduff, who is hell bent on ending Macbeth's reign as the Scottish Monarch. Great little cameos by David Thewlis (King Duncan) and Elisabeth Debicki (Lady Macduff), along with brilliant visionary direction by Justin Kurzel will give the uneducated hordes a chance to witness one of Shakespeare's masterpieces.

William Shakespeare's most famous (and quotable) tragedy has not had a major big-screen adaptation that has stayed faithful to the play in many a year. Justin Kurzel's film attempts to provide a definitive cinematic version of the iconic play with this gritty, war-based work of drama starring Michael Fassbender (Oscar-nominated for "12 Years a Slave, 2013) in the eponymous role and Marion Cotillard, who won the award for her role in Edith Piaf biopic "La Vie en Rose," 2007.

As a quick word of warning: if you've not read any Shakespeare, then I'd advise you not to watch this film. Rife with Shakespearean language told through coarse Scottish accents, this is not a story easy to follow for those unfamiliar with it. Having studied the Scottish play in school, I can bring you up to speed if you're unaware - Macbeth is a Scottish thane (equivalent of a lord) who sees a premonition of witches after winning a battle. The witches' prophecies trigger a spiral which sends Macbeth beyond sanity. And a character-based war drama is, in my opinion, the perfect direction to go in for a Macbeth adaptation. I always thought in school of what a good film Macbeth would be if made with sweeping battle scenes and a rough, gritty take on the tale. This is what Kurzel does, to great success. The first thing to note is the acting. Easily his best role (which is saying something,) Michael Fassbender portrays the flawed deterioration of the eponymous protagonist with gravitas yet often relatable humanity, even as his deeds become more and more ghastly (a scene with stakes is especially hard to watch.) It will be interesting to see how Fassbender's upcoming performance in Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs biopic compares to this. An Oscar nod is almost inevitable; it would be a travesty for him not to gain a nomination for this. Marion Cotillard is not to be over- shadowed in a role which would require a considerable lack of talent to play badly. Luckily the French actress has that talent in spades and at first she brings to the table hardened resolve before the true extent of Macbeth's madness is revealed and her acting changes accordingly with an impeccable change-over.

Also good is the haunting score and stunning Scottish scenery, bleak yet beautiful in a cold, austere way. The supporting turns from David Thewlis as King Duncan, Sean Harris as Macduff and Paddy Considine as Banquo are also all fantastic. In addition the ending is unexpected, but in a good way.

There's little bad to be said about the technique that went into the process of making Macbeth. The only things which detract are the admittedly shallow complaint that the dialogue, and therefore the story, is often hard to understand due to the coarse accents and antiquated language. This does sometimes have the effect of ruining scenes due to being taken out of it trying to understand the speech. Also, the slow motion is used rather poorly. Too much to be used effectively, with the slow motion lingering a little too long mid-battle, but not enough to be part of the visual style like Zack Snyder's 300. However, apart from this Justin Kurzel's Macbeth is a masterfully made film that may not win over those unfamiliar with the source material but will be a true treat for fans of Shakespeare and cinema. 79/100.

Macbeth fmovies. I wanted so much to love this movie! A stellar cast, wonderful source material, what could go wrong. What went right was the visuals; the film looks great. Locations, costumes, cinematography, all are just splendid. But all that is spoiled because most of the time you can't understand what the actors are saying! Other critics commented on this issue but I went anyway, hoping they were wrong. They weren't. And there is simply no excuse. I've seen all these actors in other roles and they know how to enunciate quite well, so what went wrong? It's Shakespeare, people! The words matter! Now, I don't know if this was sloppy sound editing or deliberate obfuscation, but the result was that a movie that worked magnificently on every other level was totally spoiled, a disappointment to viewers and I'm sure an embarrassment to the cast and, I hope, the filmmakers.

peaceful candles on violent faces - rough vision of emotions deep - motion matched the poetry - of wondering thoughts to keep.

a master piece combining theatre - excellent acting and visual art - authenticity in dress and location - even Shakespeare would take heart.

Michael Fassbender made Macbeth, raw yet vulnerable which solved an issue I always had with this character. How can a strong war lord completely losing it? He portrayed Macbeth in a such a way that made me feel, that he truly (twistingly) believed it was also for survival and not just for simple ambition. He solved it for me.

At the same time, I always thought of Lady Macbeth as a conniving, over-ambitious gold-digger. She still was yet at the same time I saw a strong person who helped surviving despite her pain and loss. Marion Cotillard's acting was so pure and emotionally complex, awesome.

A Scottish friend who loves his country's history, was pleasantly surprised regarding the relative authenticity of highlander living and praised the costumes: no tartan, but Roman type with leather/metal battle uniforms which would be likely correct considering that Macbeth lived in the 11th century.

The music was powerful, supporting the Shakespearian lines, subtly giving them more impact. @Sales: subtitles would be useful even for people whose first language is English ... although it would reduce the magnitude of this visual spectacle.

This films was everything I was hoping for when seeing the trailer. It was a piece of art with moving pictures and words. Even if you don't like Shakespeare, it's an amazing film. A very high 9 score !

As the shortest, sharpest and most stormily violent of William Shakespeare's tragedies, "Macbeth" may be the most readily cinematic: The swirling mists of the Highlands, tough to fabricate in a theater, practically rise off the printed page. So it's odd that, while "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet" get dusted off at least once a generation by filmmakers, the Scottish Play hasn't enjoyed significant bigscreen treatment since Roman Polanski's admirable if tortured 1971 version. The wait for another may be even longer after Justin Kurzel's scarcely improvable new adaptation: Fearsomely visceral and impeccably performed, it's a brisk, bracing update, even as it remains exquisitely in period. Though the Bard's words are handled with care by an ideal ensemble, fronted by Michael Fassbender and a boldly cast Marion Cotillard, it's the Australian helmer's fervid sensory storytelling that makes this a Shakespeare pic for the ages — albeit one surely too savage for the classroom.