Lady Macbeth

 

Lady Macbeth 2016

• Director: William Oldroyd
• Based on book by Nikolai Leskov
• Cast: Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Naomi Ackie, Paul Hilton, Christopher Fairbank, Anton Palmer, Golda Rosheuvel
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Florence Pugh – Little Women, Midsommar, Fighting with My Family
• Cosmo Jarvis – Humans
• Paul Hilton – Case Studies, Wuthering Heights
• Naomi Ackie – Doctor Who
• Christopher Fairbank – Wallander, Wolf Hall, Doctor Who, Jack the Giant Slayer, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Fifth Element, Crocodile Shoes, Alien 3, Spender, Hamlet, Auf Wiedersen Pet
• Golda Rosheuvel – Dune, Luther
• Why?  The title
• Seen:  4 June May 2023

Rural England, mid-19^th century. Young Katherine (Pugh) has been sold into marriage by her father to the cold and neurotic Mr Lester (Hilton). When her husband and religious sadist father-in-law (Fairbank) are away, she ventures out of the house in which she has been confined. She encounters estate employee Sebastian (Jarvis) and a passionate affair ensues.

This is not Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth (I confess that I had expected a spin-off) nor is it Lady Chatterly’s Lover. It is a psychological thriller about oppression, mad violent resistance, and the high price of liberation, which in part is to become an oppressor oneself.It is chillingly good. 

4 * of 5