Justin Kurzel's 'Macbeth' looks glorious, and the composition of each frame is an aesthete's delight.
Bit of a problem, there, as far as I'm concerned, as it slowed the pace of the film enormously.
Michael Fassbender is quite superb, and the always reliable Paddy Considine and Sean Harris likewise, but the lingering languor with which (in particular) the highland landscapes were handled diminished momentum, and – with it – the domino-effect sweeping paranoia evident in the play, and with it, the cascade of Macbeth's decline into madness. It also, more seriously, lessened the impact of Lady M's transition from ambitious pragmatist to despairing sentimentalist. Without that emotional evolution that sea-change in their characters CAN'T take your breath away in the way that it should.
That said, I could look into Mm. Cotillard's eyes for a month without blinking, so I can't blame Kurzel for lingering his lens on her.
An artistic success, visually, a spectacular performance from Fassbender, but otherwise...meh! Oh, and THE LEAST imposing Malcolm. EVER.
Bit of a problem, there, as far as I'm concerned, as it slowed the pace of the film enormously.
Michael Fassbender is quite superb, and the always reliable Paddy Considine and Sean Harris likewise, but the lingering languor with which (in particular) the highland landscapes were handled diminished momentum, and – with it – the domino-effect sweeping paranoia evident in the play, and with it, the cascade of Macbeth's decline into madness. It also, more seriously, lessened the impact of Lady M's transition from ambitious pragmatist to despairing sentimentalist. Without that emotional evolution that sea-change in their characters CAN'T take your breath away in the way that it should.
That said, I could look into Mm. Cotillard's eyes for a month without blinking, so I can't blame Kurzel for lingering his lens on her.
An artistic success, visually, a spectacular performance from Fassbender, but otherwise...meh! Oh, and THE LEAST imposing Malcolm. EVER.