Michael Fassbender’s Macbeth is a classic for the ages in Australian director Justin Kurzel’s latest film

REVIEW: Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth cements the Snowtown director as one of Australia’s finest directors on the world stage.

Macbeth (MA15+)

Director: Justin Kurzel (Snowtown)

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, David Thewlis, Sean Harris, Elizabeth Debicki.

Rating: 4/5

There will be blood ... and much, much more.

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes ...”

The possibility of blood, sin and vengeance remains inevitable throughout Australian director Justin Kurzel’s superlative new reading of Macbeth.

This arresting adaptation of the most cinematic of Shakespeare’s plays is as near to definitive as Roman Polanski’s celebrated 1971 version.

In addition to the fine work of Kurzel — now officially one of our finest filmmakers on the world stage — this triumph owes much to flawless casting and performances, innovative scripting and the stunning camerawork of Australian cinematographer Adam Arkapaw.

Michael Fassbender in a scene from director Justin Kurzel's film Macbeth.

As you would expect from an actor regarded as one of the best of his generation, Michael Fassbender (soon to anchor the much-anticipated Steve Jobs biopic) excels in the title role here. But not in the showy, outwardly theatrical manner many might envisage.

Fassbender’s interpretation of the murderous Thane carefully isolates, then subtly combines two distinct strains of this iconic role.

The quiet, persistent menace of Macbeth the man — a irreparably damaged, yet powerfully instinctive warrior in 11th century Scotland — is channelled by Fassbender in a uniquely mesmerising fashion. This alone emphatically separates Fassbender from those who have previously tackled the part on screen.

Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in a scene from director Justin Kerzel's Macbeth.

However, once Fassbender allows Macbeth’s famously insular, ever-intensifying madness seep into his performance, the film as a whole tightens its grip upon the viewer until it cannot be broken.

French star Marion Cotillard’s portrayal of the notoriously manipulative Lady Macbeth is perhaps more unconventional (underplayed, even) than Fassbender’s contribution here.

Some Shakespeare purists will find Cotillard’s work moving in a slightly tangential direction away from the source text. Nevertheless, the delicately devious interplay she develops with her co-star should silence most doubters.

In fact, the selective editing and re-sequencing at work in the screenplay is the real culprit when it comes to putting noses out of joint. Most of the changes applied to this Macbeth are both brave and justified.

The spellbinding battle scenes and impassioned soliloquies laced throughout the movie are framed in a dynamically evocative fashion by Arkapaw. This marks a welcome return to shooting for the big screen after tremendous TV series work on Top of the Lake and the debut season of True Detective.

Originally published as Michael Fassbender’s Macbeth is a classic for the ages in Australian director Justin Kurzel’s latest film