The problem with most adaptations of William Shakespeare plays is that they treat the material with too much reverence, creating flowery and formal films that add little to the Bard’s work (see: last year’s Romeo & Juliet). The best Shakespeare movies aren’t afraid to risk with translating from book to screen, adopting a modern-day feel or sometimes even completely modernizing the stories. The upcoming Macbeth adaptation doesn’t dump its characters in 2014, but there’s reason to suspect that it will put a new twist on the classic tale. New character posters for the film hit the web today, presenting this Macbeth as the darkest and bloodiest we’ve seen yet. And I’m totally fine with that.
Starring Michael Fassbender as Lord Macbeth and Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth, this take on the Bard’s play hails from The Snowtown Murders director Justin Kurzel. If those three names alone aren’t enough to get you excited (which, to be clear, they should be), the film co-stars Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby), Jack Reynor (What Richard Did), Sean Harris (TV’s The Borgias), Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur) and David Thewlis (the Harry Potter series). That’s a stellar lineup, and I’m confident that all the actors, particularly Fassbender and Cotillard, will bring something fresh to their respective roles.
Only two character posters, for Fassbender and Cotillard, have landed online, though it’s possible that more may hit in the next few days. After all, Kurzel recently shopped the film to buyers at Cannes, who were shown some early footage, so we can consider the film’s publicity campaign launched.
It’s unclear when we’ll be seeing Macbeth, but I’d be shocked if it doesn’t show up in theaters sometime during the fall of 2015. After all, with a cast as talented as this and a director as respected as Kurzel, an Oscar campaign is well within the realm of possibility.
