Director: William Oldroyd
Writer: Alice Birch (Screenplay) Nikolai Leskov (Based on Lady Macbeth Mtsensk)
Starring: Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Paul Hilton, Naomi Ackie, Christopher Fairbank, Golda Rosheuvel
Plot: In 19th-century rural England, a young bride who has been sold into marriage discovers an unstoppable desire within herself as she enters into an affair with a worker on her estate.
Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Typical Period Piece
Story: Lady Macbeth starts as young Katherine (Pugh) has been sold to Alexander (Hilton) an older man that orders her around his house, waiting for the unpleasantry of being forced into sex every night, with her just doing nothing around the house all day.
With her husband away on business and her maid Anna (Ackie) watching over her, Katherine decides to see what is going on with the rest of the help, starting an affair with Sebastian (Jarvis) one of the groomsmen, one that puts a smile on her face for once, which soon has dire consequences.
Thoughts on Lady Macbeth
Characters – Katherine is the young woman sold to an older man to be his wife, she is left in an empty unfulfilled life which follows a routine which only leaves her alone most of the time. When she finds herself alone, she starts an affair which changes her attitude to stand up for herself, wanting equal within her home. Sebastian is the groomsman that starts an affair with Katherine, he doesn’t want to get caught knowing it would be his neck if he was, though he does love what he has with Katherine. Alexander is the husband that is strict and demanding towards Katherine, he goes away leaving her alone. Anna is the maid to Katherine that knows what she is doing, but wouldn’t say anything against her,
Performances – Florence Pugh is great in the leading role, you can see she is going onto bigger thing with this performance. Most of the rest of the performances are strong through the film, they let Florence lead the film though.
Story – The story here follows a young lady that is sold into a loveless marriage only to start an affair which will see her going into a new direction with her life to help her find happiness. This is an interesting story that does follow the period drama one to start with before taking a dramatic turn which will make it stand out from others, only it just doesn’t seem to show enough to make us truly get invested in this character of Katherine and her action. This does at least try to be different, only it just isn’t that much that we can care about for the story side of things.
Romance – The romance side of the film shows how one young lady will do anything for love, no matter what is happening in her life or what will happen if she does it.
Settings – The film does use the settings well, showing us just how the house away from the rest of the village, adds the isolation that Katherine would be feeling.
Scene of the Movie – Caught red handed.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – There could have been a lot more from the story.
Final Thoughts – This is a typical period piece that does have a minor twist on the normal, which doesn’t add that much by the end of the film.
Overall: Period Piece 101.
