Taglines: All hail.
Macbeth, a duke of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
The film starts with a funeral of Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s child, with both parents grieving for their loss. Macbeth, who supports King Duncan in the civil war, is leading royal troops into a final battle. Macbeth emerges victorious, but with heavy losses, including many boy soldiers. The battle is observed by three women with a small girl and an infant. They approach Macbeth and Banquo, hailing Macbeth as a Thane of Cawdor and future King, and Banquo as a father of Kings, before disappearing in the mist.
Elsewhere, Duncan hears about Macbeth’s victory and is brought the Thane of Cawdor who, deemed to be a traitor because he has allied with Norse invaders, is stripped of his title and executed. The King orders his servants to take the title of Thane of Cawdor to Macbeth, who reacts uncertainly. He sends a message ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her about the witches’ prophecies. Lady Macbeth then prays to the dark spirits in the village’s church asking them for guidance. When Macbeth and his soldiers return, and her husband tells her that Duncan will stay one night as their guest, she urges Macbeth to kill the King to fulfill the prophecy from the witches.
Duncan arrives to the village and a feast is being held, where the King pronounces Malcolm as his heir. Macbeth still hesitates and Lady Macbeth persuades him to commit the deed, while she slips a sleeping potion to the King’s servants. After the feast ends, Macbeth sees a ghost of one of the boy soldiers who had been killed during the battle who gives him a dagger and leads him towards Duncan’s tent. Macbeth follows and brutally slays Duncan.
Malcolm enters the tent and seeing what Macbeth has done, flees in fear. Shaken, Macbeth goes to his wife and gives her the daggers he used to kill the King. Lady Macbeth rebukes him that he should leave them in the tent and goes herself to place the daggers in the hands of the sleeping chamberlains. Later she meets Macbeth in the church where they both wash their hands from blood and with Lady Macbeth telling him that the water has washed their deed away.
Macbeth is a British drama film directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Jacob Koskoff, Todd Louiso and Michael Lesslie, based on William Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Macbeth. The film stars Michael Fassbender in the title role and Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Filming took place over seven weeks in England and Scotland. On 6 February 2014, it was announced that principal photography had begun in Scotland. On 21 February, filming took place at Hankley Common in Elstead, Surrey. On 26 February, the cast and crew was spotted on set at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland with almost 200 extras. Other locations used include Quiraing in Skye, and Ely Cathedral in Ely, Cambridgeshire.
Macbeth
Directed by: Justin Kurzel
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Paddy Considine, Sean Harris, Jack Reynor, Elizabeth Debicki, David Thewlis
Screenplay by: Todd Louiso, Jacob Koskoff, Michael Lesslie
Production Design by: Fiona Crombie
Cinematography by: Adam Arkapaw
Film Editing by: Chris Dickens
Costume Design by: Jacqueline Durran
Set Decoration by: Alice Felton
Music by: Jed Kurzel
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence and brief sexuality.
Studio: The Weinstein Company
Release Date: December 4, 2015
Visits: 88
