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22 out of 22 people found the following review useful: Excellent film - tense, violent and beautiful, 5 December 2005 Author: vbenjamin from United Kingdom
I very much enjoyed the BBC1 Macbeth. The script was good, the actors were excellent and I thought that the direction and the photography brought the best out of them. The director managed to convey a sense of tension and violence throughout, starting with the initial 'creative' tension and controlled violence in the lively scenes in the kitchen at the beginning and building to the desperation of the final scenes. This was helped by the stylish but claustrophobic interiors. This is an extremely beautiful film as well, heightened by the unflinching close ups of the principal characters as they start to disintegrate under the pressure.More like this please!
15 out of 15 people found the following review useful: fabulous, 5 December 2005 Author: bigtvguru from United Kingdom
I thought this was an absolutely stunning production. It was beautifully crafted and slick. James Macavoy is fabulous as Macbeth, charismatic, brooding and intense. Keeley Hawes is also superb. This high standard was maintained by the rest of the cast. I think Joe Milson (Billy) also deserves a special mention.The whole thing is set in a dark claustrophobic atmosphere which is skilfully fused with the vibrancy and energy of the kitchen in a Michelin starred restaurant. I loved the bin men - what a clever idea. Plus the tone of eerie humour whenever they appear adds further dimension to the film.The pace is just right, time enough to drink in the atmosphere and empathise with Macbeth's plight before being drawn along with him on his inexorable journey. The only fault with this production is that it wasn't shown on the big screen.
14 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Absolutely stunning contemporary adaptation of Macbeth!, 1 December 2005 Author: s_l_p_b from United Kingdom
The idea of setting Macbeth in a the kitchen of a top restaurant is inspired. Those places are kingdoms in miniature with some star chef taking all the glory and doling out all the pain.James McAvoy plays Joe Macbeth in an utterly mesmerising performance as a the driven, passionate sous-chef put who is taken for granted by the chef and restaurant-owner Duncan - a suave, Irish rogue played by Vince Regan oozing charm and bonhomie.( Think Oliver Reed before he climbed into a bottle.)Ella Macbeth is the restaurant's hostess with the mostest. Keely Hawes' natural innocence and cool beauty are perfect: is she really capable of what Lady Macbeth does..?..In a stunning scene where she whispers poison in her ear, turning Mcavoy to fury and the hot passion - she certainly seduced me.The whole film is beautifully lit and the director has done a fantastic job making the very best of the enclosed nocturnal world of the kitchen - harsh contrasts of bright light in the kitchen and almost darkness in the restaurant with muted, and then more and more pervasive splashes of red.This is what bringing Shakespeare to life is all about. It works perfectly as dark, modern fable if you know nothing of the original - and it pays huge dividends if you know the original. The updating of 'Banquo's ghost ' is brilliant!
8 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Amazing!, 25 December 2006 Author: CiciRose from United States
All I can say after watching this is "Wow." I watched it two nights in a row and I still feel that I have more to take in. Everything is masterfully done, the acting, direction, everything. A large part, in fact the largest, is definitely the casting of Macbeth as well as Lady Macbeth; they are fantastic..!! James McAvoy's performance was one of the strongest I have seen from any actor in a long while. There were a few scenes of his in particular that had me absolutely riveted. Keeley Hawes is incredible as well (to be honest I'd never seen her in anything before this, but she was absolutely perfect!); I believed that they were those characters. Even the fact that the dialogue was "updated", if you will, did not bother me (something that usually does). It's refreshing to see a Shakespeare adaptation that hasn't been dumbed down. If you're a fan of Macbeth this is definitely worth seeing. 10 out of 10.
8 out of 10 people found the following review useful: A respectful & respectable variation, 27 March 2006 Author: Nozz from Israel
The name Joe Macbeth was used before, in a 1955 version with a gangster setting. This new version seems also to tip its hand to the Orson Welles and Roman Polanski versions, by borrowing details. But plenty is new and interesting. Lady Macbeth gets a bit of a back story involving that baby whom Shakespeare mentions in a throwaway remark, and she has a literally luminous presence (compared to the rest of the lighting) that does not depend on her relationship to Macbeth. For Macbeth's part, a little extra motivation is inserted to replace the lust for the crown, since there's no crown to be had this time-- at least not one that any arguably sane person could imagine killing for. It may be a matter of opinion, but I think that all the kitchen business does manage to fill the gap in interest left by the omission of Shakespeare's language (though no one could compare a pig's head to "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow"). What I did see as a flaw is that no great contrast emerges between Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth as the story advances after the first murder. They seem to break down pretty much in parallel, and he is the less interesting, even in his climactic comeuppance.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Unintentional Evil, 28 October 2006 Author: Guy Kewney from United Kingdom
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The star of "The Scottish Play" is, of course, not the Thane; it's his ambitious, unscrupulous wife. And the star of this show is the wife of the chef.It's amazing that anybody could fail to enjoy this - but there's no accounting for taste, or lack of taste! - because the young, perfectionist deputy chef is created as a flawed character, ideal soil for the evil insinuations of his wife.The plot is too well known for any review to fail to be a "spoiler" - it follows the original. The chef of a top restaurant, feted, media-savvy and grandiose, is supplanted by his number two, after being murdered by the younger chef's wife; but although he inherits the restaurant, he can't cope with his guilt and neither, much to her own surprise, can his wife.The "weird Sisters" of the original were found on a blasted heath. The script brilliantly transplants them to an urban "recycling centre" with plastic bags blowing in an evil-smelling wind from the back of a council garbage truck. And the Sisters themselves are three weird garbage men.The joke about "The Scottish Chef" had all of us, watching, shouting with laughter. It's a terrible pity it has to be given away here... but I'm glad to see someone else liked it as much as we did.The triumph of the script and the performance is the degradation of the heroine, from the "power behind the throne" of chef Duncan, preparing him for media interviews by smearing his immaculate white overalls with blood - in an extraordinarily ambivalent, sexually simmering scene, done al forno - to her final extinction, lost, elevated too high for her own equilibrium, cold as revenge served out of doors as she walks the roof-tops in her nightie.Clever touches; the discovery of a message from the dead Duncan in the form of an old SMS, as a modern "ghost" and the omnipresence of blood in a kitchen substituting for the blood of battle... definitely one to watch twice!
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Shakespeare Re-Told: "Macbeth", 10 December 2005 Author: Dominique Ellis from United Kingdom
I thought it was great.I am studying "Macbeth" at the present and this has helped me to understand the play better.Even though it wasn't exactly as I thought it would be, I liked the idea of the three "Witches" a.k.a bin men. They provided the much needed humour in the dramatisation of one of Shakespeare's most famous works.Watching the programme has helped me raise my grade from a c- to an a-!! I enjoyed it immensely!!
7 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Keeley was superb, 29 August 2006 Author: benbrae76
Is there any role that the wonderfully versatile Keeley Hawes cannot tackle? She was certainly the mainstay as "Ella (Lady) Macbeth" in this decent modern adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth", aided by excellent performances by all, except perhaps James McAvoy who to my mind somewhat overplayed the title role a tad. I also thought that the script, though clever, was a little disjointed.I wasn't sure at first whether or not the restaurant setting would work, and it did indeed take a little while to get used to, but once the play settled, it turned out to be quite an inventive interpretation, with good use of lighting to create a suitably Gothic-like atmosphere.I can't say this was the best production of "Macbeth" I've ever witnessed, but it was by no means the worst, and if only for Keeley's performance alone, it was well worth seeing.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Re-told Shakespeare, 8 August 2008 Author: redsoxfan2144
I'm a big fan of James McAvoy. He does a great job as being MacBeth and I find this a lot like the real thing. Even though the different scenery is strange, I like how it was taken place in a resteraunt. Very casual and a lot like today, this would be a good thing to watch if someone didn't get the book or play. I feel it would clear a lot up for them. Keeley Hawes also did an amazing job. I really got into it and I just felt like the whole thing was splended.I love how instead of witches they used garbage men. It was a good idea, everything was done nicely. A few things I didn't like however, is how fast everything happened. I'm glade it wasn't going on and on but a little longer with a bit more details might have been nicer. If you don't like to see blood, you might not want to watch this. Personally I don't get bothered by it, but with a weak stomach you might. It wasn't to bad but it had a lot during points of it.
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Disappointing melodrama depicting Macbeth and his wife as complete idiots, 12 August 2007 Author: Ross from United Kingdom
The only reason I give this disappointing update of Shakespeare's fine (though historically, offensively inaccurate!) play Macbeth as many as 4 stars is because of the excellent acting.I used to admire this play until I learned that it's based on a pack of lies about the real history of the time that was rewritten later to suit the current ruling family. The name Stewart simply means Steward and the Stewarts were not ancestrally heirs of the Scottish throne - much the same tricky situation as faced the Tudors hence the damnation of Richard III who was no better nor worse than his brother and his Tudor successors. Scotland, or at least the part that concerned Duncan and Macbeth in Macbeth's time was ruled by the chosen representative of the chieftains although a fairly unruly situation when there was dissension. Macbeth was chosen but Duncan, an unpopular chief, seized the Kingship. No wonder he got removed though not as in Shakespeare's play. Macbeth was supposed to be the just king and a good king whilst Malcolm was a hostage in England for quite a long time where he was indoctrinated with the English custom of primogeniture which he took back with him to Scotland, convinced he was the rightful king and the old system of election was invalid. No wonder the English let him go home - a useful "English" puppet on the Scottish throne. As I recall, Malcolm was a strong but very harsh king and not too popular.So it's hard for me to watch this play without remembering the injustice to Macbeth who didn't murder Duncan so far as I recall. Even harder to watch this over-melodramatic and unrealistic adaptation in which Duncan actually tells his ambitious chef that if he Duncan dies tomorrow, Macbeth will inherit the business instead of Duncan's son "who isn't ready yet to inherit". Completely daft! So Mrs Macbeth promptly decides her husband must murder Duncan right away, and worse, not some clever scheme to avoid being implicated but "you're a chef, a knife man, murder him with a knife". Which Macbeth does.I was never too impressed as Macbeth and his wife descend into madness even in the original play and especially as Macbeth was as I had learned the rightful king anyway. However, it does make some sense as they are all so superstitious and prophesies start coming true to scare them. But in a modern Scottish restaurant setting, it's really hard to believe how Joe Macbeth loses all control over himself, acts weird, alienates staff and customers and is well on the way to bankrupting the business. He has Banquo murdered by one of the illegal immigrants his wife had tried to pin the murder on and then is himself murdered by MacDuff - another daft theme as now Macduff will end up in jail for murder whilst in the original play MacDuff is within his rights in the period setting as a supporter of Malcolm to pursue Macbeth.Mrs M goes off her head much more realistically and really rather deserved to chuck herself off a building given what a mess she'd made of their lives with her loopy scheme. Watchable for the good acting and the restaurant milieu and if you don't mind it being a travesty of history. Watchable if you like a melodrama and don't mind that it isn't realistic, or assume the modern couple had an uncertain grasp on reality anyway. But don't expect the later part to make any sense if you prefer plays to be in the real world, just ride with the melodrama if you can and admire the actors.Had Shakespeare written this play now, set in our time, he wouldn't have written what the BBC issued because it doesn't make modern sense. A shame the modern writer couldn't take that thought on board rather than going overboard with unrealistic melodrama. The melodrama could have worked if the basic setting had worked. With the restaurant setting something more devious was needed. In a different setting and with far more at stake for the Macbeths than hurt pride, the two murders might have made sense. You could say "murders have been done for less" but are we to suppose Shakespeare's Macbeth and his wife are idiots? Of course they aren't. And a great deal was at stake in a historical period in which murder by one prince of another for power or revenge wasn't unusual. In this modern retake, clearly they are idiots.The three witches are amusingly played as refuse men.
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