Macbeth

'Macbeth', known too as the Scottish play (have also heard Verdi's opera coined the Scottish opera), is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, with some of Shakespeare's most deservedly famous characters and lines/solliloquies. It is one of his most quotable/oft-quoted plays and one of his most accessible to study in schools, from personal experience and studying it twice (no other Shakespeare play had me studying it more than once at school).

The BBC Television Shakespeare series is of great interest and a must see for anyone wanting mostly faithful productions with talented casts, even if the quality of the production values throughout the series is variable and some productions are better than others. This 'Macbeth' has garnered a mixed response and that is understandable, particularly in regard to Nicol Williamson's Macbeth. To me it is neither among the best or worst of the BBC Television Shakespeare series, and is solid enough while a long way from being perfect.

Can completely understand the mixed reactions to Williamson's performance. For me, it was an inconsistent one, with some disengaged interaction early on and some intense moments veer on blustering. Worst of all agreed is the "Tomorrow" solliloquy, delivered far too slowly and is so under-acted that he looks bored. There are though fine moments, especially later on. He looks and acts genuinely spooked in the Banquo's Ghost scene and it's thrilling and did feel a lot of tension in the chemistry between him and Jane Lapotaire. The standout though was the "is this the dagger I see before me" solliloquy, one of the most chilling renditions of that part of 'Macbeth'.

Did feel that the witches were over-acted and not frightening or mysterious enough. The production would have benefitted from a tighter pace, it can drag and more detailed and more engaged interaction would have helped it.

On the other hand, to me 'Macbeth' is one of the better-looking productions of the series. The costumes and atmospheric lighting (especially at the beginning for the latter) are particularly good and while some may not share this opinion the austerity of the sets were perfectly fitting and didn't look cheap. The direction is not always consistent, but the scene where Macduff learns of his family's murder is very moving and the final scene is intensely vivid. The Banquo's ghost scene is problematic, have seen some amateurish staging of that scene and with touches that don't make sense but this production did a decent job with it, the psychological element of that scene is important and that was brought out. In fact, that the production has more of the psychological element of the play more than some other productions works in its favour.

There are some nice little things too, like the genuine terror in Lady Macduff's eyes (hugely telling and adds so much to the terrifying and emotional impact of that scene and something that one can't see on stage), Lady Macbeth's hands covered in blood as she pushes Macbeth towards the bedroom and Macbeth clearly showing nervousness with his hands behind his back. The sleepwalking scene is also spooky and the often brought up touch, also garnering a mixed response from viewer, didn't feel too gratuitous to me, and gratuity is a pet peeve of mine.

Music score is suitably haunting and the camera work is professional. Shakespeare's text is iconic and has a lot of impact throughout, this 'Macbeth' is notable for being near complete in its treatment of the drama and text, more so than most 'Macbeths', and is one of the more faithful in adaptation productions of the BBC Television Shakespeare series. The little that is omitted doesn't harm the production at all, and are some of the weakest parts of the play itself anyway. Forget to mention the rest of the cast. Jane Lapotaire is a bloodcurdling bat-out-of-hell Lady Macbeth, on the other end of the spectrum we have a noble Ian Hogg and very moving Tony Doyle. James Bolam is amusing as the Porter, the only "bad" performance was Tom Bowles' Donalbain but that was not enough to bring the production down.

Summarising, a solid if patchy 'Macbeth'. 6.5/10

WARNING: if you do not know the play Macbeth, I refer to the ending, so please do not read this if you wish to keep the ending a surprise!*****

Most of the later, stylized BBC Shakespeare TV-films have impressed me to some degree. Not so, Macbeth. While the highly stylized setting was effective in parts, the actors seemed to misunderstand much of the play, the ironies and character development. Lady Macbeth was especially guilty of this, during the speech in which she asks the "spirits which tend on mortal thoughts" to unsex her. The point of the speech is that Lady Macbeth is asking to be made sexless, remorseless and resolute. This Lady Macbeth, however, throws herself onto the (convenient) bed, legs spread wide in an almost masturbatory speech. I began to wonder at this point if she had actually read the play, or was being given her lines scene at a time! Sadly, the performance only got worse. Macbeth was marginally better, although the use of the "evil" rasping voice for his murderous thoughts, contrasted with the "manly" voice in the parts where his conscience is awakened makes for a very two dimensional tragic hero. Yes, that's right, Macbeth is a tragic hero, who is bought to downfall by his ambition and paranoia. Instead, the interpretation Jack Gold has given the play turns it into something resembling a 19th century melodrama, with an evil villain, pious king and Malcolm, and a heroic Macduff, completely ignoring the irony of Malcolm's statement of Macbeth as a butcher (Macduff, carrying Macbeth's head is visually the only butcher on stage) and the fiend-like Lady Macbeth (who we last saw wracked with guilt, sleep walking, only to kill herself later out of despair in the knowledge of what they have done). The introduction of the Weird Sisters, who rise out of stone was impressive. It is a pity the rest of the production did not follow suit.

Though Nicol Williamson performs outstandingly in quite a few scenes, his overall performance is somewhat uneven. Much of the time he delivers his lines with brio or with subtle astuteness, but he occasionally comes across as disengaged and bored. Especially disappointing is his delivery of the great "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" soliloquy. It is indeed, the worst rendition that I have ever beheld. Perhaps Williamson was seeking to convey Macbeth's ennui through his lackluster recitation of the soliloquy, but it falls badly flat.

Jane Lapotaire is excellent in her opening scene and in her final scene, but somewhat less impressive in the intervening scenes (especially in the scene with Banquo's ghost). She pretty badly misjudges a few of her lines, and she is too highstrung. Still, her overall performance is at a high level.

Tony Doyle is generally excellent as Macduff, and James Hazeldine is quite good in the difficult role of Malcolm. James Bolam is considerably less entertaining as the porter in this production than as Touchstone in "As You Like It" (though the fault may lie with Shakespeare more than with the actor).

Most of the other performances are pretty good, though there are quite a few other instances of misjudged renderings of lines. The sets and lighting are fine, and the production is to be commended for including most of the text. (The spurious III.v and the spurious bits of IV.i are of course omitted, as is the paean to Edward the Confessor in V.iii. Only a handful of other lines are omitted -- though I should note that all of those remaining omissions are gratuitous.) There are some pointless rearrangements of the text, but they are not confusing.

There are several directorial oddities, of which I will mention two here. First, in the third scene -- where Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches -- the witches simply amble away after they have delivered their prophecies to Macbeth and Banquo. Contrary to what Macbeth and Banquo declare, the witches do not suddenly vanish. Given that the sudden disappearance could have been effected easily in a production made for television, the directorial decision to have the witches simply walk away is strange indeed. Second, during the scene with Banquo's ghost, there are two empty chairs rather than only one. There is the empty chair across from Macbeth, where Banquo's ghost appears. Clumsily, however, there is another empty chair at the very part of the table where Macbeth is standing. Quite unclear is why the director included that second empty chair, especially given that its position makes rather ludicrous Macbeth's question about the location of a vacant seat.

In short, this production is well worth watching even though it is marred by some shortcomings.

Although there are a number of flaws in this production of Macbeth, it is worth viewing for several reasons. First, Nicol Williamson, though he fails to make this Macbeth work completely, is always interesting; probably, this is due to his intelligence. One can always see what he is getting at, even when he fails to get there or when we disagree with his interpretation (and I disagree with much of this one -- especially the "Tomorrow and tomorrow" sequence). The gradual shift from a heroic, conscience-concerned warrior to a cold-blooded and ruthless tyrant is clear if not always heartfelt.

Second, most of the text is clear and unadulterated (some minor changes, including the happy cutting of the Hecuba scenes, which are not by Shakespeare anyway, actually help move the play along). The cast and director have worked so carefully to illuminate the text, characters, and situations that this particular version might be the best choice for school use.

Finally, Jane Lapotaire gives a brilliant tour-de-force performance as Lady Macbeth. For one thing, she is sexy, which apparently some reviewers seem to find objectionable, but which is quite accurate for Lady M. Why else would she have to call on the powers of evil to "unsex" her? Also, she is clearly in love with her husband and not with her own ambitions. It is imperative in any production of Macbeth that the marriage is based in love and devotion; otherwise, the tragedy is lost! When this Lady Macbeth tries to calm her manic husband during the banquet scene, we can feel her anguish over the loss of their former relationship (and her part in causing it), anguish that easily turns to madness the next time we see her. The sleepwalking scene is beautifully built by re-living not only the text, but the actions of the Act 2 murder of King Duncan and its effects on the Macbeths. Lapotaire is one of the great post WWII actresses, trained in the great British tradition, and her presence in this production makes the viewing worthwhile in itself.

Don't miss it!

Although this is a rather dark film, Macbeth was written as a dark play and therefore is very fitting.

The way that this film was done reflects the difficulties of converting a successful and ageless stage production into a filmic production. It is filmed and acted in a way that expresses the actors' stage presence and ability while exercising the many capacities that cameras have.

It is worth watching. I have had to view many different versions of Macbeth for many classes in the general ed and collegiate levels and this version does justice to the original text and to the stage origins of the play.