A bloody yet bloodless Macbeth

Rating: 4/10 (16 March 2016)

This version of Macbeth has plenty of violent scenes, yet the performances themselves lack blood- by which I mean, passion and feeling. This is a version of Macbeth so lacking on enthusiasm or effort that it's puzzling as to why it was made and why the filmmakers thought it was necessary. The lack of imagination is first apparent on our first look at the witches, who are just... women. Their appearance is meant to be otherworldly (indeed, in the play they have beards, though I've yet to see a production of Macbeth that keeps that detail), but in this film they're anything but. And they mutter lines, hailing Macbeth, that should be said with a little fire.
That's just a taste of what Michael Fassbender gives us as Macbeth. He's learned his lines, but apparently saw no need to act them out, speaking monotonously and saying things that don't match what we see. He refers to his hair unseated and his heart pounding- they're not. He tells Duncan he will be joyful while frowning. When debating whether to kill Duncan, he shows not a trace of fear or conflict. After Duncan's death, he says he wishes for death, but no one would believe him. Upon seeing Banquo's ghost, he says he is white with fear- he's not. Later, he calls a servant cream-faced- but he's not.
Marion Cotillard does much better as Lady Macbeth. When we first see her reading the letter, her voice, unlike Fassbender's, actually varies accordingly to what she is reading. But there's not enough of her in the film, and the other characters lack any interesting traits. Our spirits who mislead Macbeth are supposed to be a severed head and a bloody fetus, but here they're just ordinary people. And plenty of the action lacks imagination as well- showing Duncan's murder, and having Duncan wake up just before, is ripped off from Roman Polanski's 1971 film. See Polanski's version instead- because a monotone Macbeth equals a botched Bard.