When I was in tenth grade in high school, the mention of William Shakespeare name always seemed to turn me off in English class. In my previous years in school I had either Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet handed to me almost every year to read. Needless to say after a while you get sick with those stories, as their not as entertaining as their made out to be. However, my guess is that when your a bit more mature, and in the tenth grade you can handle the blood, carnage and mayhem associated with Shakespeare’s Macbeth. As a kid that was always into horror and action films Macbeth was right up my ally. I can remember asking my teacher a shitload of questions stuff in the book, and my head was buried deep in it all the time. The one thing that always bothered me however is that no one made a really great up to date version of the story of film. All the versions I’ve seen have been watered down, and to this day I think if someone made a good bloody, ball to wall version of Macbeth it would be well worth the time and effort to check out.
I’ll admit when I first got the e-mail about this film, and saw the subject heading of “Macbeth” I got like a little kid on Christmas. However while reading the press release I saw that this was a modern day telling of the tale, just like what Baz Luhrmann did with Romeo and Juliet in 1996. However this film did not have the star power or the budget that Luhrmann’s film did and although it had Romper Stomper director Geoffrey Wright taking the reigns on this one, the script lacked in many areas and did not stay true to Shakespeare’s original story.
I’m sure the majority of the readers on this site have either read or know the story of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The only difference between this film in the story is the time period in which it takes place. Instead of swords the characters carry guns, instead of horses they drive cars, and instead of castles they live in large heavily guarded homes. And instead of your normal noblemen, the characters in this one are grouped in a more modern day gang. The films characters also speak in the Shakespearian tongue, despite the films setting. The story does become a bit different toward the end, but is very much true to the story. There are a few minor things such as the three witches whom are not ugly hags but rather beautiful and seductive red head women, whom lust for Macbeth as well. The film is also full of a lot of erotic scenes and overtones to go along with the look and feel of the story.
Artistically I understand where the writers where going with this. They did take, for the most part all the dialogue from Shakespeare’s play. However I would of much rather have seen the film in a more up to date tongue than the old school style. To me I think the script would appeal to a wider audience if the writers gave it more of a modern day dialogue. I mean heck the story is set in modern day, might as well to the dialogue to go with it. The script however overall can be a bit confusing even for people who are familiar with the story of Macbeth. I for one understood most of what was going on as it did stay very true to Shakespeare’s play until about three quarters of the way though, where the story became different. I for one did not buy the ending.
The directing and acting are not half bad. Director Geoffrey Wright seemed to know his script very well, and was obviously very educated with Shakespeare’s story. It obvious that Wright did not make this film for the masses to see, none the less comprehend. On that note I understand where he is coming from, but think that the film was too long. The acting in the film is pretty good, especially actor Sam Worthington who did a great job as Macbeth. It’s a hard role to pull off especially a character that many look at as one of Shakespeare’s best, and Worthington, despite the story pulled it off very well. Lachy Hulme was also very good as Macduff and actress Victoria Hill was great as Lady Macbeth. The whole cast was pretty good in this film and with such a hard and complex script, the actors in this film should be proud of their performances.
The overall production value is alright, with all the great artwork and posters that were made to help promote this film, I kind of expected the movie to have the feel and look of films like The Crow and Underworld. However I was kind of disappointed with the overlook look the film gave off. It looked a bit flat in scenes and for me it took away from the overall feel of the film. the costumes in the film were pretty up to date and looked very cool. they gave each character a superhero look for the most part, the only problem with it though is that they all pretty much looked as if they were wearing the same thing. In terms of make-up effects and visuals, the movie does have some decent fight and shoot out scenes with some decent visuals, but the movie does not have much in terms of make-up effects involving guts and gore. There is some blood in the movie but nothing over the top, only enough that’s expected.
Overall, Geoffrey Wright’s modern telling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth really wasn’t something that went over well with me. The film had it ups such as in it’s acting and directing, but hit rock bottom with it’s length and production value. I would of also preferred if the characters weren’t so gun happy either. Pretty much this film is made for the select few people that are really deep into Shakespeare’s work and can respect the fact that it was given an updated look and feel. It’s a film that I think will go over well with art house film fans, but I don’t think the normal horror fan or a fan of the story will really care for it.
– Horror Bob
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- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
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- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
