The biggest change in this edition is the addition of Macbeth’s heirs. The opening ceremony was the funeral of Macbeth's daughter, and the couple was deeply saddened. The first act set a gloomy and gloomy tone for the whole film, and since then, both the castle feast and the succession ceremony are shrouded in a pale yellow. The original work only mentions Mrs. Macbeth Barren, and no children of Macbeth appear. This film joins the plot of the young Macbeth's death on the battlefield. This not only paved the way for Macbeth's jealousy of Bancor and his son, but also added reasons for Macbeth to kill the king. When Macbeth wavered, his dead young son appeared in front of him and handed him the dagger, as if urging his father to avenge him. On the other hand, the grief of losing his son also dampened the hero's tense nerves, and seemed to pave the way for the subsequent madness. The only flaw in this setting is that Mrs. Macbeth is indifferent to it, as if this son does not exist. If you carefully examine it, this is still somewhat doubtful.
The film makes extensive use of flashback cut mirrors to show Macbeth's inner world, supplemented by heavy fog, which emphasizes the contradictions and struggles in Macbeth's inner heart. Fassbender’s performance was very wonderful, and a tear in the corner of his eye was a touch of magic. Mrs. Macbeth's performance was quite satisfactory. The first paragraph of the monologue is the paragraph that best embodies Lady Macbeth's courage and strength in the whole play, and it should also be the small climax of the whole film. When I watched the 1979 version before, I was particularly impressed with Judy Dench’s "hold, hold". Cotillard seemed to lack that wild explosive power. In the first half of the original text, Mrs. Macbeth is more bold and cold than Macbeth. The roles of the two gradually reversed after killing the king. Although the part after Cotillard performed better, the first half did not seem to be that strong. Mrs. Macbeth's scenes have also been cut. The paragraph of sleepwalking has been deleted and cannot echo "macbeth shall sleep no more". This also reduces the thickness of Mrs. Macbeth's role, making her a vassal of the hero.
The lines of Bancor, Macduff, Macomb, and King Duncan have been drastically cut, almost reduced to a tale. King Duncan’s "righteous" is not reflected, Macomb is easily scared away by Macbeth, and Macduff becomes a fighter. The big scene of "birnam wood come to Dunsinane" that I was looking forward to was replaced by a fire. In the final battle, Macduff was almost defeated, and Macbeth's attention was restricted by prophecy alone. The conversation between the Macdahs and their son was not even left. The images of the supporting actors are slightly dry, and they serve as foils for the protagonist.
Almost all the lines in this film are written by Shakespeare, the costumes are extremely elegant, the soundtrack is magnificent, and the scenery of the Scottish Highlands is even more beautiful. Compared with Shakespeare's original work, the screenwriter has added a lot of unique interpretations. For example, at the end of the movie, Bancor’s youngest son and future king Fleance took away Macbeth’s sword. Does it suggest that Fleance inherited some of Macbeth’s bravery? Macduff and the whole army cheered "hail to the king of Scotland" at the end. "Is it also a tribute to the heroic death of former King Macbeth?
Shakespeare was limited by the thinking of the times, and at the end of the script praised Malcolm's orthodox identity, and at the same time emphasized Macbeth's "traitor, tyranny" identity. But the film clearly regards Macbeth as the first protagonist. Most of the time, the audience follows the protagonist’s perspective to experience the whole story, and they are often lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the protagonist’s complex mental images. This also brings the audience's perspective closer to the protagonist. Through the setting of the screenwriter, the audience can also make another interpretation: Macbeth fought loyally for the king and even sacrificed his only son, but the king passed the throne to Malcolm, who was not as capable and prestigious as Macbeth. Macbeth, who suffered a double blow, embarked on a crazy road under the instigation of his wife, and was deeply tortured by crime and punishment. If you look at the movie from this angle, Macbeth's killing of kings may not be driven by ambition, but also a crime of passion under the influence of great grief and jealousy. This is undoubtedly a pretty bold interpretation. If Shakespeare was alive, how would he comment on it?
ps: This film seems to turn three witches into four, and delete hecate at the same time. Maybe there are deeper reasons for this. Please also enlighten friends who know.
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