Macbeth in Manhattan

Having seen and loved Greg Lombardo's most recent film "Knots" (he co-wrote and directed that feature as well), I decided to check out his earlier work, and this movie was well worth the effort and rental. Macbeth in Manhattan is a tongue in cheek, excellent take on the Shakespeare favorite, updated and moved to NYC. I was impressed by the underlying wit and intelligence of the script and was wowed by the way the storyline of the production in the movie mirrors the storyline of the play itself - and very cleverly at that. The trials and tribulations of life in Manhattan parallel many a Shakespeare play, and Central Park was rarely put to better use than as the woods around Macbeth's castle. Mr. Lombardo obviously has a fond place in his heart for New York and New York stories (Knots is a funny and warm sex comedy about six thirty-something New Yorkers set primarily in a charming Brooklyn neighborhood, with Manhattan offices and a downtown loft thrown in for good measure) and has spent considerable time around the plays of Shakespeare. The movie is well-paced and the story reflects a deep understanding of the essential drama at the core of Macbeth. It reminded me of Al Pacino's "Looking for Richard" - another wonderful Shakespeare "play within a movie." I highly recommend checking out Macbeth in Manhattan.

It is definitely not the scholar's version. Good thing, because the text is virtually unplayable in the last century. The plot is delicious but for the text you definitely had to be there - 1606.

This takes the narrative and runs with it. No cries of foul unless you want to take on Kurasawa, Welles or Verdi. This just takes a straight narrative of the play; excises the boring parts and provides the motivation by parallel plot developments of the players within the play. Does Macbeth have a narcissistic personality disorder? Is Lady Macbeth unhinged by lust? Does Macduff have a clue? Could you get it on with a witch in a vermin infested apartment? All this and more will be answered here.

The end? Well, we all must have our little secrets, just say it is eminently Shakespearean.

Well, being a collector of Shakespeare movies, I'm not sorry I bought the DVD (it was cheap), but this is not a good movie. Gloria Reuben is fine, and so is John Glover (his part is very small), but most of the rest of the cast (incl. Harold Perrineau) offer nothing but bad acting and over-acting, and the dialogue is almost universally inane - so much so that it hurts. Shakespeare's original words always excepted, of course. Someone like Perrineau is usually good, but he is pretty awful here, and I suspect the director is to blame.

The overall idea of having a love triangle drama between the actors playing Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macduff is in itself not bad at all, but this is sadly another example of someone trying to do Shakespeare (or something Shakespeare-ish) without having neither a good understanding of Shakespeare nor a particularly competent technical and directorial ability, and as a result the movie just doesn't work.

3 out of 10.

I really enjoyed this movie. It took a pretty dark story-that of Shakespeare's Macbeth- and wrapped it in a quirky, often funny and poignant modern yarn.

Kudos to the way the filmmaker brought the very different worlds of modern NYC and Macbeth's Scotland together under one roof. The opposing worlds act to

really bring out the intrigue and comedy of the play and you have to love Harold Perrineau as the Chorus, a part which doesn't exist in the play but really helps to jazz things up. The ending stands out among little indies I've seen for it's closure and originality.

I really enjoyed this charming twist on MacBeth. Using the actors lives to reflect the actions and desires of the characters (however imperfectly), was refreshing and amusing for one who is familiar with the play MacBeth. Certainly not to be taken too seriously. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys Shakespeare or independent films.