Good adaptation of Shakespeare's famous play

Rating: 7/10 (31 August 2016)

William Shakespeare's classic tale of ambition, treachery, guilt and revenge. MacBeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a series of predictions from three witches. One is that he will be Thane of Cawdor and another is that he will be King of Scotland. When he is elevated to Thane of Cawdor he starts to think that their predictions have some merit. Encouraged by Lady MacBeth he murders the current King, Duncan, and is made the new King. This power emboldens him, resulting in a murderous purging of the Kingdom of anyone who may be a threat to him. Meanwhile the opposition forces are beginning to gather...
A good adaptation of the classic play. Dark, haunting and reasonably fast-paced - Hardly the recitals that sometimes pass for Shakespeare-based movies. Good production values too.
Great work by Michael Fassbender in the lead role. Solid support from Marion Cotillard as Lady MacBeth, Sean HArris as Macduff, PAddy Considine as Banquo and David Thewless as Duncan. Elizabeth Debicki also appears, as Lady Macduff, but does not have much screen time.
On the negative side, there is an element of style over substance to the movie. The director tries too hard to be "arty" - jarring editing, slow motion shots, odd settings - and this does detract from the quality of the movie a bit.