Macbeth

Easily the greatest film of the year and does justice to Shakespeare's great tragedy. The film brilliantly portrays the tale of a man who is corrupted by his own ambition and ultimately comes to his demise by his own tragic flaw. A brilliant depiction of the play, with impeccable acting, beautiful cinematography, and a haunting soundtrack. The value of judgment that asserts that this extraordinary work of art should be restricted to 16+ is very unfair, especially to children interested in exploring Shakespeare. The violence in the film is only in keeping with the violence of Shakespeare’s original play, and it is depicted in a very discreet manner and is by no means gratuitous. For example, the scene when Macbeth kills King Duncan could have been much more violent, but instead was presented more along the lines of the Psycho shower scene, showing the knife and the terrified facial expressions, but doesn’t actually show the graphic details of the murder. This, in turn, makes the presentation much more powerful, allowing us to feel the power of the scene, rather than see it. Also, the scene where Macbeth kills MacDuff’s family is notorious for being very disturbing scene of violence, but this adaption rather chooses to cut away right before their death and imply what happens rather than actually show it on screen. This decision allows the audience to focus more on the story and the psychology of the tragic hero, rather than on the gory details. It was very well done and the “R” rating is obviously an extremely severe overreaction. The film ought to be “PG-13” at the very worst. Not only should it be available for all audiences interested in exploring Shakespeare, teenagers ought to be encouraged to see this extraordinary adaption of the Immortal Bard’s great tragedy. Director Justin Kurzel presents a very potent and raw depiction of Shakespeare’s Scottish Play, which brings the story to fiery life. Highly recommended!