7/10

Rating: 7/10 (6 January 2016)

The proof that Shaekspeare will never get old. The umpteenth adaptation of the great tragedy by the Bard is another great vision of his work, unique in its own yet appropriately elaborated and adapted, despite the fact that it is more good storytelling than great cinema.
By that I mean that the filmmakers didn't find a way to make the narrative deeply compelling and thrilling as I know it, it lacks that adrenaline punch that for me made Macbeth one of the greatest things ever studied in school. It is a very cold staging of the tragedy that doesn't really make for an absorbing cinema experience per say.
Still, the power of the themes, characters, story is so superlative and so out of time it is hard to resist being engaged with Macbeth. Put on top of that Fassbender owning, and I truly mean, owning the role of Macbeth, Cotilliard giving Lady Macbeth a fantastic portrayal and a supporting cast making even the secondary characters stick out.
Moreover, a visual style and staging that is unique and new, photography that can be liked or disliked but has to be recognized for its technical flawlessness. A soaring score that perfectly encapsulates the horror on screen. Justin Kurzel really comes out as a victor here, because his choices can be appreciated or turned down, but he clearly emerges as a having a true vision. I did not appreciate the depressing bleakness and anxiety he injects here, this is a little too depressing and maddening. It really got dark to points were I didn't even think it to be necessary. I would have left that behind for some more snap to the film, a little more active drama, which the movie has, but unfortunately not enough and regretfully so since those were the parts I really enjoyed.
But you won't hear me complaining about this movie anymore since the passion and energy it has, whilst they might require a little too much attention to grasp, are totally deserving of admiration and respect.