By: James Southworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars
It's never easy to do adaptations based around Shakespeare. The way he wrote his plays was clever and interesting, and it can hardly be replicated by anyone. So, perhaps the best thing to do is to not make a direct adaptation on a Shakespeare play, but rather do a movie based on one. That's certainly what the film "Lady Macbeth" has in mind. This story revolves around young girl Katherine, who goes into an arranged rich marriage initially innocent and happy. That happiness quickly disappears when she realizes that her husband cares nothing at all for her, and she has no way out. So, she soon resorts to desperate measures to try to have some semblance of independence by having an affair with a poor worker on her estate. Then, a much more dangerous desire in her awakens.
This movie is entirely interesting and excellent in so many ways. Let's talk about the interesting commentary this movie gives first. This movie seems to want to give out a feminist message, but it is not at least feminist in the extreme. Katherine is not a character we are meant to entirely sympathize with by any means. We do feel for her in the situation she's put in, and the very cruel upper class men and women she's surrounded by. This movie could've so easily just had men as the oppressors of the movie, but they don't take that route. Instead, they show that because of Katherine's privilege of being upper class, she can still very easily oppress lower class men and women. The movie does not once excuse the extreme measures she takes to keep her independence. Her ambition is certain Macbethian in scale, and it's interesting to think about the similarities she has to Lady Macbeth. Besides feminism, this movie is also concerned in looking at racism. Katherine's maid Anna and Sebastian, the worker she has an affair with, are racial minorities. They are the even more unfortunate victims in this film, as it shows over and over again, how both are tragically unable to get out of their respective positions. They don't have the rich privilege that Katherine does. They are hated, but unlike Katherine, they don't take vengeance on those who hate them; in fact they are meant to be more sympathetic.
This movie certainly has a lot on its mind. But, there is also a horror/thriller aspect of it that only makes me like this film that much more. An element that works to this movie's advantage is the almost entire lack of music. The movie begins with everyone singing at Katherine's wedding, but even that has a very ominous feel to it. After that, the film is almost entirely silent. This makes an action like the scratching of a chair or the knocking of a door feel deafeningly loud. I was on the edge of my seat for the majority of the film, wondering what sort of disaster Katherine would enact next. There were several moments in the movie where chills actually ran up my spine. There was one particular death in this movie that must have gone on for at least a minute. Though it wasn't violent (in fact it was out of focus and there was no blood), the nature of the death was still one of the most legitimately dark and terrifying things I've seen out of any movie this year. I could just feel the wrongness in it; it's certainly a scene that I won't be forgetting any time soon. There is no supernatural evil here, just humans. But this movie shows that human evil can be just as frightening because of how tangible it is.
The acting in this movie is overall top notch. Of course the standout performance is Florence Pugh as Katherine. I was absolutely awed by her performance, as she effectively shifts from being a naive, insecure girl to a vengeful, menacing, dead-eyed woman. It's very interesting to watch the shift as it occurs. At first, it was refreshing to see her turning the tables on her oppressors. But, it eventually became something entirely different as she kept on doing it. Her humanity pretty much disappeared. Pugh was able to show Katherine's menace in just a simple glance or expression. I hope that a lot of people are able to see this movie just for her superb turn alone. There are some other great performances as well. Christopher Fairbank as Boris isn't really in the movie that much, but he plays his character with such a despicable menace. He really made me hate him, but there was still something oddly interesting with how much Boris despised every woman who came into contact with him. The way he said his lines was effective and impactful. Cosmo Jarvis and Naomi Ackie are both the real heart of this play as Sebastian and Anna. Their characters are a bit more subtle. You do learn volumes about them, though, in the way they interact with Katherine. They're the only ones who are able to see through her, and it's interesting to see both of them come to the realization of what a monster she is. The one performance I didn't care for much was Paul Hilton as Katherine's husband Alexander. He was just a bit bland, and overall his character was just very one-note. That could've been the intent of the movie, but I don't think Hilton portrayed him very well. As far as other problems with the movie go, there was a middle section where the movie slowed down to a screeching halt. I just wanted it to move on from that. This movie also shows Katherine retreating to nature a lot. There's not a whole lot of explanation given to why she does it, and it ultimately feels pointless.
Still, I overall can definitely say I thought "Lady Macbeth" was an excellent film. There was a quiet, subtle, building sense of terror in it that I think more horror films need. I also liked how this movie wasn't just concerned with being scary, but also offered interesting commentary about race, feminism, and what it was like to live in 19th century England. I think this movie lived up to its title, as it was very Shakespearean in how powerfully dramatic it eventually became. Florence Pugh's performance alone is enough for me to recommend this movie to anyone who is interested to see what can be done when you implement ideas from Shakespeare text into a movie.
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