![]() ![]() ![]() Oldroyd’s approach to “Lady Macbeth” guarantees some longueurs as the film wears on. That the lover, Sebastian ( Cosmo Jarvis), is biracial and that Katherine’s servant, Anna (Naomi Ackie), is black adds a subtle extra dimension to a story that is, in the end, all about hierarchies of power. When the husband conveniently has to go away for an extended period, Katherine starts having an affair with one of the workers on the estate. She is encouraged by the husband never to leave the house, and this advice/command is reinforced by her father-in-law, a sour-faced tyrant who goes around caning servants and threatening Katherine. She is sold into marriage - “sold” is the only word for it - to a middle-aged creep with some unspecified but ominously hinted at sexual problems. There is no special pleading, no attempt to make us understand, just cold facts and honest emotion.Īctually, Katherine’s emotions are close to what ours would be under the same conditions. But no, Katherine and Pugh don’t give a damn about us, either. Pugh has said of Katherine that “the only thing she represents is not really giving a damn.” But usually, even when playing such a person, an actor will care very much about seducing us that is, the audience. The beauty of “Lady Macbeth” - a function both of Birch’s well-observed script and of Oldroyd’s dispassionate direction - is that it allows for elements of both interpretations. Or it could be the feminist tale of a spirited woman who is abused and underestimated and decides to live as she pleases. It could be a kind of monster movie, with Katherine as a moral disease turned loose on the English countryside. It’s a studied narrative strategy for presenting a volatile script, and the result is something interesting and different, an invitation to stay outside and see the big picture.īasically, this is a story that could be presented in two extreme and opposite ways. He observes and presents, but holds something back. He has no strident point of view and does not try to inculcate a rooting interest. A theater director making his feature film debut, Oldroyd is methodical and dispassionate. Most importantly, she makes the young wife, Katherine (Pugh), into the story’s dynamic driver, the source of every important thing that happens.īirch’s focus on the big events and on Katherine’s motives complements director William Oldroyd’s approach, which is the opposite of sensational. She moves the setting to 19th century rural England and streamlines the action, keeping all of the drama and lopping off the dull parts. Screenwriter Alice Birch makes some changes to the story, and all of them are improvements. “Lady Macbeth” is based on a novel by Nikolai Leskov, “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District,” which was later made into an opera by Dmitri Shostakovich. The last time something like Pugh happened, she was called Kate Winslet, and the movie was “Heavenly Creatures.” Barely 20 years old at the time of filming, Pugh has a surface poise and an inner turbulence, a capacity to command the screen with the spectacle of her watching and thinking. “Lady Macbeth” has a lot to recommend it, but if it’s going to be remembered for one thing, it will be for launching the film career of its star, Florence Pugh. Facebook Twitter Email This image released by Roadside Attractions shows Florence Pugh in "Lady Macbeth." (Laurie Sparham/Roadside Attractions via AP) Laurie Sparham/Associated Press ![]()
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