Macbeth (2015) Review

I had been waiting for this film for months; ever since I first heard of a new adaptation of Macbeth I was hyped. In my opinion, Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s strongest plays and as more information was released I got more excited until, finally, I could watch it. I went to the earliest screening I could and waited to find out; would it live up to the hype?

Macbeth is based on the Shakespeare play of the same name, directed by Justin Krzel and starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard along with several other talented actors. The film follows Macbeth, his rise to power and his decent into madness.

The film starts with a very sombre scene which sets the tone for the rest of the film, bleak and tragic. Straight away the films cinematography and aesthetics blew me away, and this wasn’t just the opening or just a couple of scenes, every shot was beautiful. When you could pull any frame from the film and use it as a poster you know you have an aesthetic masterpiece. The atmosphere was caught in its lingering shots of stillness and superb lighting; the Scottish landscape gave me goosebumps, the gorgeous sets took my breath away and when it came to the battles, I was just stunned.

I’m not going to beat around the bush with you guys, this film looks amazing and that doesn’t mean it’s another artsy style over substance film, it uses Shakespeare’s play which we all know is amazing source material, which has been adapted perfectly.

Every single person on screen performed fantastically, even the children we’re great, their roles were miscue but what they did do was still good. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard give astounding performances; they own the roles and blew me away delivering convincing, pure emotion. Weather subtle or roaring everything they did was a joy to watch. As I said it’s not only Michael and Marion, everyone was fantastic in their roles.

When it came to death and gore, Macbeth shocked me, most films just use a bottle of fake blood and pig intestines which can be a little gross but for this people actually left the cinema because some of it really leaves you shaken, it’s like watching a disaster unfold on the news, it’s horrible but you can’t just look away, it was beautifully shocking and really got under your skin, seeing throats sliced and stomachs cut open has never been so disturbing to me.

When it came to the final battle my heart was thumping, it’s some of the most gorgeous cinematography I have seen for a while, watching the fiery silhouettes dance with swords clashing and blood squirting had me on the edge of my seat, even as someone who knew what happens I was still biting my fingernails. The score of this film was also fantastic, powerful and mind-blowing, sending shivers up my spine, from gentle strings to tremendous drums, the soundtrack is brilliant. When it ended I was frozen, the entire cinema was, nobody got up to leave for about five minutes into the credits. I was speechless, the first thing I said after that film was:

“I’ve seen a lot of films this year, and that was the best one yet”

In conclusion, Macbeth is a cinematic masterpiece and one of the greatest Shakespeare adaptations I have seen. Intense battle, shocking and beautiful images which will leave you in awe and speechless. If you like Shakespeare, go see it. If you like pure, dramatic and beautiful cinema, go see it. If you are anyone go see it I beg you. This is one of the greatest movies I have seen for a long time and even though I thoroughly tried to, I could find no faults with this film. If Macbeth doesn’t win at least one Oscar I will lose all faith in the academy. Truly breathtaking.

10/10