![]() ![]() But the thrust of the story remains the same and is indeed indebted to Shakespeare’s famed anti-heroine’s slow, grimly determined journey into villainy. Oldroyd and Birch have made significant changes to their source material, first of all by transposing the action to rural England. ![]() William Oldroyd’s film (which was scripted by Alice Birch, with both making their feature debuts) is in fact a retelling of Nikolai Leskov’s 1865 novella Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, which was subsequently turned into a 1934 opera by Dmitri Shostakovich. The only thing that’s important to note going in is that this is no Shakespeare adaptation. Though filled with compassion for its heroine, the film is nonetheless deeply macabre, methodically building up to every menacing story twist and yet managing to make each land like a gut-punch. It took me utterly by surprise-a costume drama unafraid of exploring the oppression and brutality at the heart of its genre, featuring a star turn from a largely unknown actress. It’s best to know as little as possible about Lady Macbeth going in. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |