Different people have different attitudes towards the work of William Shakespeare, ignoring the fact that he is perhaps the most famous and famous poet and playwright in history. Therefore, his movie adaptations, no matter how attractive they look, always bypass the mass audience. In “ Macbeth ” familiar dialogues, full of intricate metaphors and complex thoughts, fall on the video sequence very hard and often listening to them is almost unbearable, they seem so confusing.
They do not fit well with the atmosphere of the cold and cruel world that director Justin Kurzel creates on the screen, more reminiscent of the feelings of the characters themselves, trying to understand themselves. However, it is the atmosphere of realism, not devoid of deliberate artistry at the same time, that often chills Shakespeare's syllable, leaving the narrator in the background, while the epic visual series that does not need any explanations comes to the fore.
This turns watching Macbeth into a deep dive, where, catching only single words from long phrases, instead of listening, you gaze into the faces of the actors, living with them all the suffering, doubts and pain. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard bring so much emotion that the text itself becomes almost unnecessary. Kursel uses colors, frames, sound, scenery, landscapes, extracting the maximum benefit from them and almost hypnotizing the viewer, everything, even the smallest details, works so harmoniously and clearly in this mechanism.
Visual language in “ Macbeth ” so rich that he explains everything that happens better than any words. Kurzel, like a self-confident shepherd, leads viewers to the message of the picture so deftly that they cannot get bored along the way. You can't even really think about what you see. On “ Macbeth ” one must come with an open soul and let him in, so that at the end there is something to discuss. This is a difficult movie, often slow, but exciting at the molecular level and does not let go for a long time after the credits.
Macbeth, who kills the king and becomes a tyrant, as performed by Fassbender, displays many human qualities, which are difficult not to separate. Scotland of the Middle Ages, empty lands shrouded in thick fog and irrigated with cold rain, do not dispose of amusements and often justify the necessary cruelty. Macbeth, however, goes the way to cruelty that is completely unjustified and, what is more terrible, primitive, unnecessary. What pushes a person to the actions of Macbeth can serve as a topic for a very long essay and it will be very difficult to describe this palette of feelings, but Fassbender does not need to explain them, Shakespeare himself does not really explain them, because they can only be seen in the reddened eyes looking from under Fassbender's thick eyebrows. So, it becomes clear that his consciousness is really full of scorpions, that thick gray clouds really hang low over his head.
Cotillard has a role no less interesting and rich, after all, her heroine pushes Macbeth to commit a sin, and then repents of what he has done, seeing how her husband begins to go crazy and what actions he begins to perform on his head turned by power. Lady Macbeth's monologue performed by Cotillard, supported by Kurzel's symbolic visuals, is penetrating to the core because, again, everything she goes through seems so convincing and honest.
Honesty generally distinguishes “ Macbeth ” from many other attempts at Shakespeare adaptations. The lion's share of the creators' efforts is spent on finding a balance between realistic Scotland, which is helped by shooting on location, which convey all the majesty of nature and all the insignificance of man, and Kurzel's style, which helps to reveal all the themes and problems hidden in Shakespeare's text. The first aspect also anchors the movie in the national history of Scotland (the play was based on a true story). The authenticity of the costumes, props and sets when viewed is undeniable, even when the creators are obviously using them to heighten the dramatic effect, precisely because there is always that strict balance between one and the other.
From the very first seconds, camera work begins to stand out with compositions and colors to such an extent that any freeze frame can be safely printed and sent to prestigious galleries around the world. At the same time, this does not interfere with the organic nature of what is happening. Nothing seems far-fetched, drawn, or altered. Jed Kurzel's music, combining traditional bagpipes with more familiar instruments, is mesmerizing and, together with the picture, creates an absorbing meditative effect, rare in modern cinema.
This movie is serious, dark, cruel and heavy, that is, not entertaining at all. This movie, strictly speaking, cannot even be liked, it can make a lasting impression that will be difficult to describe. Only convinced cinephiles and zealous admirers of Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard (not fans, but connoisseurs of talent) will fall in love with this picture, but everyone should try to see it. Moreover, everyone will hear and see these names next year, when Justin Kurzel will once again unite Fassbender and Cotillard in the long-awaited movie adaptation of the game `` Assassin's Creed ''.
The Topic of Article: Review of the movie Macbeth. From the Creators of Assassin's Creed.
Author: Jake Pinkman |
