Lady Macbeth (2017)

User Review

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  Barneyonmovies

  6 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: The first half of 'Lady Macbeth,' is particularly potent as it demonstrates the sheer power of a simple moving image to portray and evoke raw fear, lust, desire and nail-biting tension to an incredible degree as it strips back its filmmaking efforts to simple bleak shots and physical performances. Yes rather than the romance you might expect, this film is extremely visceral and cold, and lacks any signs of joy and lightness. Instead, it somewhat finds solace with a kind of pornographic look at revenge where we watch a down-trodden lady fight (well, murder and fornicate) her way to an imagined freedom against a number of frightening obstacles.
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The problem is, once we've tentatively and painstakingly watched her break through the first few of those, much of the tension is released and we're really only left with the revenge stuff. That would be rather liberating if we felt sorry for the character, but sadly it's hard to forgive her brutal actions here because - even though it's entirely the point - the portrayal is extremely calculating and seemingly absent of feeling.
  VERDICT: A visceral, gritty and raw exploration of primal revenge wrapped in a tight corset, 'Lady Macbeth's tense atmosphere would last longer if you felt for the central character. In other words, it could have been a thinking man's 'I spit on your grave,' but sadly it falls pretty damn flat in the end.

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