Review: “Macbeth” Gory and Violent Shakespearean Mess

 

Synopsis: Macbeth, a Thane of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.

 

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Michael Fassbender is swinging a dangerous sword, and it’s not for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed movie incarnation. In Macbeth, Fassbender partakes in constant violence and mumbling. Based on the classic Shakespearean play of the same name, Fassbender plays Macbeth. On a prophecy from three witches and the urging of his wife, Macbeth slays the King of Scotland and inherits the throne himself. The story has been around for centuries, and chances are an English teacher has made you read it by now.

 

As far as this movie version is concerned, even the constant violence doesn’t distract from the blandness. Australian director Justin Kurzel attempts to remain faithful to the story and inject it with cut-throat (literally) violence. That is the film’s first problem, the violent and gory nature, while true to the story of Macbeth, it is unpleasant to watch. Instead of it being a literary drama that it’s supposed to be, it feels like a cheap slasher horror from Redbox. After about the first up-close throat slashing, that’s about the threshold one can take. The proceeding 20 plus throat slashes are simply unpleasant overkills.

 

Violence aside, the movie lacks in intrigue. The dialogue is so convoluted that it makes it difficult to follow from start to finish. Fassbender spews a bunch of mumbled lines. Yes, he’s staying true to the character and accent, but the delivery is just not good. This film could have been a vehicle for Fassbender to further cement his status as one of the top actors in Hollywood, but this performance feels flat. Marion Cotillard plays Lady Macbeth, while she plays an intricate instigator in the story, Cotillard’s acting isn’t bad by any means, but she’s done much better work. The performances are hindered by the film’s uninspiring nature.

 

There are some positives that this film brings to the table. Adam Arkapaw’s cinematography is unique. With it’s bleeding of distorted lighting, the battle scenes are usually lit with a gloomy red and orange backdrop. It’s an intriguing approach to enhance these battle scenes with a lighting haze that covers up some of the grotesque battle action. It has an element of comic-book look and feel to it, at least the battle scenes do. It had me thinking of it being a lesser 300.

 

Macbeth will appeal to the die-hard Shakespearians, as it stays relatively faithful to the story. With Oscar heavyweights such as Fassbender and Cotillard, the film had a cast that could have made the movie presentable, but the mundane dialogue prevents them from accomplishing that. At it’s peak it could have been Braveheart-like, instead anyone getting through it would be a brave. The movie is just boring. Luckily that the film is only 113 minutes of this Shakespeare torture.

 

Rating: Rated R

Runtime: 113 minutes

Release Date: December 11, 2015

 

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