Macbeth (2015 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Justin Kurzel |
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| Based on |
Macbeth by William Shakespeare |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Jed Kurzel |
| Cinematography | Adam Arkapaw |
| Edited by | Chris Dickens |
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Production
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Release date
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Running time
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113 minutes |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $15–20 million |
| Box office | $16.3 million |
Macbeth is a 2015 French British-American war historical drama film based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name, directed by Justin Kurzel and written by Jacob Koskoff, Todd Louiso, and Michael Lesslie. The film stars Michael Fassbender in the title role and Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth.
The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. The film was theatrically released on December 4, 2015 on the United States while in the UK, it was released on October 2, 2015. Upon its release, Macbeth received generally positive reviews from film critics who highly praised the lead character's depiction by Fassbender as well as praising the rest of the cast, the visual style, the script, the direction and the war sequences. However, despite positive critical reaction, the film was a commercial failure, grossing $16 million worldwide against production budget of $20 million.
The film starts with the funeral of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's child, with both parents grieving for their loss. The funeral is not in Shakespeare's play, nor does the play directly mention the death of a child, but in Act 1, Scene 7, Lady Macbeth says "I have given suck, and know how tender 't is to love the babe that milks me," so the loss of a child can fairly be inferred.
Macbeth, who supports King Duncan in the civil war, is leading royal troops into a final battle. Macbeth emerges victorious, but there are heavy losses, including many boy soldiers. The battle is observed by three women with a small girl and an infant. They approach Macbeth and Banquo, hailing Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor and future King, and Banquo as a father of Kings, before disappearing in the mist.
Elsewhere, Duncan hears about Macbeth's victory and is brought the Thane of Cawdor who, deemed to be a traitor because he has allied himself with the Norse invaders, is stripped of his title and executed. The King orders his servants to take the title of Thane of Cawdor to Macbeth, who reacts uncertainly. Macbeth sends a message ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her about the witches' prophecies. Lady Macbeth then prays to the dark spirits in the village church, asking them for guidance. When Macbeth and his soldiers return, and her husband tells Lady Macbeth that Duncan will stay one night as their guest, she urges Macbeth to kill the King to fulfill the prophecy made by the witches. Duncan arrives at the village and a feast is being held, where the King pronounces Malcolm as his heir. Macbeth still hesitates and Lady Macbeth persuades him to commit the deed, while she slips a sleeping potion to the King's servants. After the feast ends, Macbeth sees a ghost of one of the boy soldiers who had been killed during the battle who gives him a dagger and leads him towards Duncan's tent. Macbeth brutally slays Duncan. Malcolm enters the tent and, seeing what Macbeth has done, flees in fear. Shaken, Macbeth goes to his wife and gives her the dagger he has used to kill the King. Lady Macbeth rebukes him, saying that he should have left them in the tent and she goes herself to place the dagger in the hands of the sleeping chamberlains. Later she meets Macbeth in the church where they both wash the blood from their hands and she tells him that the water has washed their deed away.
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