Review: Macbeth

If you had to sum up Justin Kerzel's rendering of the Bard's bloodiest production in a single word, it would be "red". The colour of fire, passion, sex, blood and anger. It is not a colour of subtlety, but then again subtlety isn't the film's strongest suit.

Michael Fassbender's Macbeth is compelling to watch, whether sloughing through enemy troops in a Braveheart-meets-300 brawl or talking to the wall in baleful monologues. Fassbender's raw magnetism shines through, given added agency by a diminished Lady Macbeth. Marion Cotillard, fantastically cast, has some of the responsibility lifted off her shoulders in favour of a Macbeth that seems to take to his actions much more quickly than usual as a result of post-war PTSD. This keeps the focus on the film's main subject matter: Kerzel's Macbeth is, at its heart, an exploration of war and how it affects the human soul. 

Where the film does attempt to be subtle it falls flat. Some elements, especially the Banquo-at-the-banquet scene, feel like they were filmed in a theatre. That's not always a bad thing for Shakespeare, but the switch from sweeping cinematic scenes to this weird pseudo-play staging breaks the immersion. The witches now have added symbolic companions that are given heavy screen-time but never really addressed, leaving both seasoned Bard veterans and newcomers scratching their heads. The film's fresh approach to the source material is generally to be praised, but it's never quite as clever as it ought to be.

Despite these niggles, Macbeth is a tightly focused story and a powerful film that bodes well for the director and star's next outing together, the video game adaptation Assassin's Creed. Beautifully shot and well-acted, Macbeth is a strong outing that just lacks a little substance.