The post o' Patrick Stewart Macbeth

[a_t_rain]

This will be pretty scattered, as it is Tuesday night and I can't usually do anything but scattered on Tuesdays. Short version: I liked it, but I'm not as much in love with it as the last two Shakespeare plays to hit Great Performances.



-- Lots of appearances from the witches in this, as well as from the Porter / Murderer / Seyton (whom I trust is meant to be demonic, as well). It feels like they're framing and controlling much of the action, and Macbeth really hasn't got a chance; this becomes even more overt in the final scene, in which it is clear that Supernatural Powers Are Taking A Hand.

-- Lady M is really creepy and totally in control. There are only a couple of moments that humanize her -- the "I have given suck" speech (it is clear that the child is dead, and this is lying heavily between them) and the scene with Macbeth right before Banquo's death. (I'm not sure how I feel about this -- I guess I like a few more of the cracks to be showing early on -- but it's a nice contrast with Judi Dench's interpretation. Should pair up the two versions of the "Come, you spirits" speech and show them both next time I teach this play.)

-- The pseudo-Stalinesque setting worked pretty well, I thought -- lots of concrete bunkers and surveillance and cult of personality stuff going on. That said, I think it was really a mistake to play 3.6 ("My former speeches have but hit your thoughts") as an interrogation scene in which Lennox induces Ross to give away Macduff's whereabouts -- that is NOT what is going on in the text, and what is going on is a lot more interesting and would actually dovetail much better with the whole tyranny / propaganda / doublespeak theme.

-- It must be extremely creepy to have Macbeth make you a sandwich. (There is, by the way, a LOT of dead meat in this film.)

-- Mop dance WTF? (Though I kinda liked poor nerdy Ross, who provides pretty much the only note of comedy in what is otherwise a relentlessly grim movie.)

-- They absolutely nailed 4.3 (the long scene in England where Macduff and Malcolm are feeling each other out); I sometimes think I am the only person in the world who really likes this scene, but this version has got to make a few converts. It's pitch-perfect, and they totally get what it's about.

-- Not sure what I think of Macbeth being drunk in the final scene, or about a couple of other peculiar things that happen there (which I won't spoil). That said, the rest of the final sequence is mostly very well done, esp. "Tomorrow and tomorrow" being addressed to Lady M's body.

Comments

[angevin2.livejournal.com]

I sometimes think I am the only person in the world who really likes this scene

I like that scene! But I haven't seen this production so I can't comment on anything else.

[fuunsaiki.livejournal.com]

You're both insane. 4.3 makes me sad. But I'm open to either or both of you explaining why I should give it a chance. :)

How did they do Banquo at the feast? I know how they did it on stage, and I have my suspicions how they've done it on film, but I don't get to see it myself until January so would be more than happy to be spoilered and to hear if you think it worked or not. :)

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

As near as I can remember:

Banquo gets killed on a train (first Macbeth's operatives poison his coffee, and then, because he won't go quietly, they shoot him). Chaos ensues. Train compartment empties out and fades to near-darkness. Banquo's ghost slowly rises from the dead.

Next scene: At "Here's a place reserved" "Where?" we see that the three witches, who have been quietly moving among the guests and pouring wine, are blocking the empty chair. The ghost doesn't enter until somewhat later in the scene than in most productions; he slooowly walks across the tabletop, upsetting (Macbeth's?) glass of wine.

After the ghost disappears for the first time and Macbeth gives the toast, there is a sequence of sheer WTF-ery wherein somebody puts on a record of Russian dance music, and they all play a musical-chairs-style game that involves dancing with a mop. We see the witches mingling in the dance. Then Banquo re-enters, and the music stops.

[disassembly_rsn]

Have you ever read Ngaio Marsh's LIGHT THICKENS? (Or listened to James Saxon's audiobook version of it, which I recommend.)

It's a murder mystery in which the murder happens some weeks into a London production of Macbeth, but the actual book begins on the first day of rehearsal. She goes over the play scene by scene while she's about it - the director is one of the viewpoint characters.

You might like her take on it.

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

I think I've read it. It sounds very familiar.

[angevin2.livejournal.com]

I have, as it happens! It's pretty entertaining.

[tempestsarekind.livejournal.com]

No, me too--I really like that scene, and I always want to talk about it in class, and my students are like, "...what is your problem crazy lady."

Haven't seen this production all the way through yet, but I did see the original stage production, so that's interesting: I don't remember being especially impressed by how they handled it there. Something to look forward to!