The Scottish Play: Review of Macbeth

Macbeth

Director: Justin Kurzel

By Alex Watson

Justin Kurzel's adaptation of Macbeth is one that belongs among the very elite versions of Shakespeare's work! Boasting a hypnotic and savage beauty throughout, Kurzel bewitches his audience from the very first frame. After his absorbing debut, Snowtown Kurzel promised us great things. His own version of Macbeth is the most emotionally wrought among many but he also expertly mixes in the disturbing aura of evil that surrounds events. Shakespeare has never looked so tragically beautiful.

After winning a key battle against an uprising of King Duncan (David Thewlis), Macbeth (Michael Fassbender) is given a prophecy by three witches. In this, they tell him that he shall soon be made King of Scotland. Obsessed with ascending to the top, the brave warrior soon descends into murder and treachery. All the while aided by his scheming wife, Lady Macbeth (Marion Cotillard).

Many noteworthy directors have taken a stab at Macbeth including Polanski and Kurosawa. In contrast, their adaptations didn't come close to capturing the harsh and brutal feel that this work brings. Opening on a stunning and arresting opening battle sequence, Kurzel grabs our attention immediately. Beautifully shot by Adam Arkapaw, his photography gives a disturbing ambiance to medieval Scotland. Surrounded by blood red skies, swirling mists and battlefield still sizzling with the souls of the dead, Arkapaw brings forward a deadly malice. Kurzel along with screenwriting duo Jacob Koskoff, Michael Leslie, and Todd Louiso breathe new life in this heavily adapted drama.

Deviating from the page, this is possibly the first adaptation that attempts to humanize the behaviors of the Macbeth's. The pair is consumed by grief over the death of their child, in the opening scene we see a funeral pyre on the moors. Macbeth's bid for power is nothing more than an attempt to crush the despair and fill the empty space. He lusts over control of his destiny and in doing so he loses sight of morality and consequences. Murdering Duncan gains him the ultimate prize, but in doing so it sets him along a dangerous path. Kurzel shows a deft touch when charting the new King's heightened suspicions and eventual madness. He resists going full blown, but the results are nonetheless shocking. Watching him murder the wife and children of MacDuff (Sean Harris) is a chilling sight where the point of no return in reach.

Kurzel and Arkapaw's work on Macbeth comes alive during sintalating third act where Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. Watching a battle during the tangerine glow of a firestorm is cinematic ambrosia. All the pent up rage, revenge and desire explode into one as Macbeth and MacDuff go one on one. This sequences proves that sometimes deviating from text can be pleasant surprise and it is these little changes that makes the biggest waves. Kurzel shows how a talent he trulys is and thanks to some inspired casting his version of this tale of evil and murder is possibly the strongest yet. The one thing that is not in doubt is that keeping this story medieval ensures that the twisted feel is not lost. Shakespeare himself would liked this piece.

Michael Fassbender once more shows his creditibility as is perfect casting as Macbeth. Easily convincing as the leader of men and having an uncanny knack to entrance his audience, Fassbender has been one of the stars of 2015. Giving a realistic portrayal of a man wrestling with his soul, this man captures the very soul of the production. Marion Cotillard matches Fassbender, but skillfully she underplays the potential madness of her character. Showing Lady Macbeth as a woman consumed by loss she paves a new emotional for the character.

Justin Kurzel's Macbeth deserves its place alongside the great adaptations of Shakespeare. Never before have seen a stories spirit so well contained and anyone who follows will have a hard task.

Job Security: Review of Two Days, One Night

Two Days, One Night

Directors: Jean Pierre & Luc Dardenne

By Alex Watson

Like everyone else, I fully understand the pressure of having to find work and the sheer fear that comes from potentially losing it. For days on end you feel that restlessness and sleep becomes a forgotten dream. This week, Belgian directors, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne return with a compelling vision of a woman literally fighting long and hard to keep her job from vanishing. With Marion Cotillard starring, Two Days, One Night could well be a heart rendering experience!

Sandra (Marion Cotillard) is a woman recovering from depression which forced to take sick leave from her job at a Solar Panel factory. Before she can return, Sandra discovers a shocking truth- workers were forced to work overtime to cover her hours, so their dreaded foreman has asked her fellow employees to vote between receiving a bonus, or making her redundant! With little time to spare, Sandra must visit each worker to convince them to let her keep her job.

Two Days, One Night is another refreshingly real but immensely raw effort by the Dardenne brothers. Throughout this excellently paced film, the characters put before us are ones that are so identifiable in our every day lives that we feel the pain throughly. Sandra isn't made out to be a heroine of our times, just a woman attempting to return to an old life, only to find a surprise that could push her over the edge. In a moment we are drawn to her struggle of convincing eight of her sixteen cash strap colleagues to give up their bonus but we also identify with her mental burden of the task.

As she visits each worker pleading for them to vote for her rather than against, the humiliation she feels is strongly presented. The reactions from bothering her co-workers on their weekend off vary from a fit of violence from a hot headed male, to numerous understanding but reluctant apologies, to finally one ashamed worker sobbing his eyes out and demanding forgiveness. Their difficulty of these choices is underlined by the unfair stance management has taken by shifting blame onto workers and now we a system which is in conflict.

The most fitting part of Two Days, One Night is in its down to earth feel and the people we meet could be the average person on the street. The Dardenne brothers present this story to us in a very minimalist style which also rings very true. Sandra may be struggling both mentally and physically and secretly you may question whether she is ready to work, but her willingness to plead for help and make a good fight are the films firing pin.

Marion Cotillard gained another Oscar nomination this week for her fine work in this film, which has been well deserved. In the Dardenne brothers movie, Cotillard is so heavy involved with her character that the film revolves around her performance. Demonstrating a great sense of agony and desperation, she brings alive Sandra and we firmly feel the strain she is under. Great support is also given from Fabrizio Rongione as her supportive although suffering husband.

Two Days, One Night is another fine effort from the Dardenne Brothers who are currently proving themselves to one of the masters of European cinema these days. If you haven't already seen their efforts such as L'Enfant, then this is a place to start!