After a brief discussion with my Wife last weekend, we chose to see MacBeth at the Cinema rather than Martian.
It wasn't actually MacBeth's redeeming qualities that tipped the balance in the end, but a quote from the trailer of Martian, "I'm going to science the hell of this." As a fan of Shakespeare, If we'd chosen to see Martian I don't think I could have looked myself in the mirror. As a scientist, I think neither could my Wife.
So off we went with curious expectations. The trailer of MacBeth seemed to show a modern, visceral imagining of my all time favourite play.
I was not disappointed.
From start to finish I was gripped to my seat, the acting is the best acting I've seen for years and the faithful portrayal of the characters and plot was admirable. There were in fact only around 3 deviations from the play that I chalked up to creative licence and all of which added to the story rather than detracted from it.
The setting was dank and eerie, a real sense of foreboding and although totally fantasy (even Scotland doesn't have that much mist--much to the surprise of the rest of the world I know) it seemed to fit nicely with the plot.
Birnam wood did come to MacBeth's castle - but in this movie it was the burning ash and smoke from the flaming trees that came across the parapet. It worked. A little vague but worked for the movie.
The one gripe I have is the camera work was a little shakey in parts. The scene where MacBeth and Lady MacBeth are discussing the deed done was shot in an extreme close up of both of their faces. However the camera began to meaninglessly pan to the right so that you were left feeling like the camera man was trying to direct your attention away from the pair and onto the tent which he may have had a hand in making.
So why the low scores on Odeon, why did my Wife not enjoy herself, why was the cinema empty and why was there an old couple next to me snoring?
I studied Shakespeare in school and had the fortune of a good English teacher (thank you Mrs John) who taught me to appreciate the work rather than just study it.
Even though MacBeth is a seemingly grim, tense action/drama that would fit perfectly into a normal persons DVD collection, the language barrier is a big one to cross.
I was always told that to appreciate Shakespeare and to learn it well try to read without looking up every word and try to work out what they are saying through context. I must admit even now there are words or sentences that I miss but the overall gist is not lost. For people who have less/no experience of Shakespeare however this may just prove to be too difficult a task.
For my wife where English is her third Language she might as well have been watching a silent movie. It got me thinking when she quite happily books us tickets to Swan Lake this month. An equally Artistic and expressively complex work.
She comes from a dancing background herself and has experience of different styles. However I'm the opposite. I've only danced a few weekend classes of Tango and in clubs. Yet even I enjoyed the trailer and hope I'll enjoy the spectacle.
Ballet as a medium will live long and prosper due to the ease in which people can come and appreciate the artform. I have a horrible sinking feeling that as language develops and people have less of an inclination towards the time and effort that you need to commit to Shakespeare, it will slowly fade into obscurity.
~Fraser
