Shakespeare in all his brutality

Rating: 8/10 (26 October 2015)

Well, another of Shakespeare's very popular plays has once again been brought back to the big screen (I wonder what number this is, though I can only think of four others that I've seen). Honestly I could write a lot about the play itself but the problem is that I'll simply be going over old ground, particularly since I've written, well, three other reviews on the same play (but on different movies â€“ neither of them which, surprisingly, are the Roman Polanski version that has Macbeth's head flying up into the air at the end of the film). Anyway, while I could talk about how this play is what I call an inverted action film (namely that it is told from the point of view of the bad guy) or how the seed is planted into Macbeth's mind at the beginning of the film and instead of resisting it he lets it grow until it consumes him, I think it would be better to talk about this version of the story instead.
While I knew that it was coming to the screen, it had fallen to the back of my mind and I would have completely missed it if it wasn't for a couple of lovely ladies at church who posted an invitation on Facebook. It took me all of five minutes to adjust my plans and to reply that I would be there with bells on (which is why I'm writing this review on the train with my battery power getting ever lower â€“ it's a shame there isn't a power point that I can use, though I'm sure if I look hard enough I can probably find one â€“ I better take my power cord with me to work tomorrow and charge my laptop up when I'm there).
Anyway if there is one word that describes this film (and my friends all agreed with this take) and that is that it is brutal â€“ very, very brutal. In fact Kurzel brings to light the absolute brutality of this play. I am even wondering if Shakespeare imagined that this play could be as brutal and Kurzel created it, but then being quite familiar with many of Shakespeare's works I probably wouldn't be surprised if he did. The thing with this version is that Kurzel captures the barbarity of medieval Scotland. In fact he takes us back to a world of wooden huts and untamed lands, of barbaric warriors, and of the vast, empty, and mountainous regions that lie to the north of England. To the English (and even before them) the Scots were always pictured as brutes â€“ this is why the Romans built a wall across the island. In fact when Roman Britain fell to the barbarians, the barbarians came from the north. This is a far cry from the cultured and sophisticated Scots that we know today.
Another thing about this film was that it was slow. We are not moving amongst the intrigue of the courts of a civilisated society. We are out on the fringes, in the barbaric wastes. It is here that the mists constantly obscures everything that we do, and where the woods drift towards us in the form of smoke from a fire. The land is empty and uninhabited, and the lords of the land live in wooden huts surrounded by tents. This land is beyond the provinces, and it is here that time slows down to a crawl. People don't manoeuvre themselves to the top by playing people up against each other, they get to the top by brutally murdering the person they want to replace.
This brings to mind the actor who played Macbeth â€“ Michael Fassenbender â€“ he was brilliant. I have seen him in a few movies in the past, but in Macbeth he truly captures the brutal and animalistic nature of the Macbeth whose murderous act has driven him to the point of insanity. On one hand he is a fierce warrior who's only characteristic that helps him maintain his humanity is his loyalty to the king. However, once he plunges the daggers into his victim all semblance of humanity suddenly vanishes and all we are left with is an animal who viciously attacks anybody and everybody who he sees as a threat. This is contrasted with the character of Lady Macbeth, who is a lady of intrigue, yet living in a barbaric world. Her sophisticated political manoeuvrings do not work in such a world, as she discovers when Macbeth brings the bloodied daggers to her after the murder has been committed.
The final thing that I wish to raise is how Kurzel subtly manipulates the film so that we are unsure whether we are seeing Macbeth's madness or reality. Is he thinking and speaking to himself, or is he speaking out aloud to everybody in the room. His court stands petrified of him â€“ he is a madman and he shows it, however Kurzel takes us into his delusional mind where he sees enemies all around him, and stoops as far as to murder innocent children.
Not a film for the faint hearted.