Rupert takes on Billy the Bard

Overall, I believe that Rupert Goold’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s timeless classic Macbeth was extremely well done. Goold definitely altered many aspects of the original script, but he stuck with the Shakespeare dialogue verbatim. The most glaring change was the setting, no longer in Middle Age Scotland, but now in a World War II-esque mixture of Great Britain and the Soviet Union. The general “feel” of the movie is very eerie and post-apocalyptic, with events taking place mostly underground. Goold draws on the obvious parallel between Macbeth and noted genocide participator Joseph Stalin, outfitting him in Soviet-style garb and arming him with an AK-47. Although the environment is modern, the dialogue sticks to the original script, giving the film a firm Shakespeare vibe. All through the movie, the music that accompanied each scene was fantastic, and accentuated the events very well.

            Goold fiddled around with how the witches are portrayed, characterizing them as hospital nurses. Throughout the film, they are always lurking in the shadows, illustrating to the audience that the witches are in total control of the fate of the characters. Special effects and editing were used liberally in the parts featuring the witches, making them seem even more fearsome and frightening.

            My favorite scene from the movie (and the book) is Act 5, Scene 5, in which Macbeth delivers a TOTALLY FREAKIN’ AWESOME soliloquy. It’s been my favorite scene since the first time I read the book years ago, and this particular cinematic adaptation certainly did not disappoint. The witches wheel Lady Macbeth’s dead body to him, and he gives the “eulogy” over her corpse. The scene was a shot as a close up of Patrick Stewart (Macbeth), perfectly delivering each line, packed with the emotion one would feel after the death of a loved one. At points in the scene, it’s as though he’s looking directly at the viewer. Add the shaky camera, dim lighting, and suitable music, and BOOM, super solid scene. Good job, Rupert. Furthermore, Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood (Lady Macbeth) were absolutely amazing in their roles, as well as the rest of the cast. My only gripe with Mr. Goold would be that the film was juuuuust a little too long, and maybe could have done without the excess black and white WWII cut scenes. With that being said, I feel this adaptation was done satisfactorily, and put an edgy, modern spin on a classic tale.