I have been given the task and privilege of directing the film Macbeth, (Macbeth) and the essay will examine many aspects of the play including the main characters, personalities, themes as well as the important incidents in the film and the historical background. I have chosen Lady Macbeth as the main character for discussion.
The 2010 film, saw Macbeth as Stalin and the weird sisters or witches were portrayed as nurses and then cooks. It was filmed in an abbey which retained some of the original scenes of Shakespeare’s play. The 2010 film starred Patrick Steward as Macbeth and Kate Fleetwood as Lady Macbeth. Despite the film’s differences when compared to traditional interpretations of the play, it received wide spread acclamation even from those devoted to the original work. There is a common thread between Stalin and Macbeth in that they are both ruthless in dealing with rivals and both their wives take their own life. I thought, prior to being director of the film, that I would choose Hitler as the part of Macbeth but decided against it, although in commonality, Hitler’s wife also killed herself. Historians have stated of Stalin that, “In the pantheon of 20th century dictators Josef Stalin’s reputation for brutality and criminology is second only to Adolf Hitler’s who was personally responsible for the death of millions of Soviet people,” (Roberts, 2003) but it must be remembered that Stalin killed more of his own people than Hitler ever did so I stuck with Stalin.
The physical aspects of Lady Macbeth in the original play are rarely mentioned. She is described as having small hands and being fair which is usually taken to mean beautiful or attractive, by her husband but it must be emphasized in a play the physical representation is left to the actors and actresses. So, in directing the film I am happy with Kate Fleetwood.
In terms of her mental strength, Lady Macbeth is very well controlled with a strong will. She is fiercely ambitious for her husband and she would, of course, gain personally from any elevations in his rank as a nobleman in Scotland. Lady Macbeth despises her husband’s values of loyalty and steadfastness towards the ageing King Duncan. Thus, initially at any rate, she has a much stronger mental psyche than her husband and is prepared to countenance dark deeds to achieve her desired ends and accuses her husband, and insulting his manhood, “of being pale and green,” (Shakespeare, Act 1, scene 7). Regarding her emotions Lady Macbeth is very well controlled mentally and gives little away emotionally but tells Macbeth, significantly, in respect of the murders, that, “What’s done cannot be undone.” (Shakespeare, Act 5, Scene 1.)
However, in directing the play I am well aware that Lady Macbeth’s emotions and mental strength change drastically during her role and her mental strength is not as strong as she thought. Ultimately, she kills herself, tormented with the burden of her and Macbeth’s murderous actions in securing the crown of Scotland. Thus, in directing the film I must be acutely conscious of the actress playing dual roles and being able to play firstly lady Macbeth as the confident, cruel and forceful queen apparent and the later Lady Macbeth who cannot sleep or continue as a queen, being racked with guilt and conscience who cannot cope with her life.
The weird sisters form an important part of the play. In a modern day setting the traditional portrayal of three ugly old hags is not appropriate. Rather than portraying them as nurses or cooks I would prefer three ageing women, not necessarily so old, but having presence and being worldly wise and cynical with strong political and life experience, (they could be widows because of Stalin’s purges), the setting would be in a modern, if Spartan, office meeting room. In their two meeting the witches give Macbeth telling forecasts. In the first meeting, they believe he will become Thane of Cawdor, a more senior status in the pecking order, and that he will become King of Scotland both of which come true. In the second meeting Macbeth secures some comfort in his actions as the caveats of the three witches seem impossible, in that he cannot be harmed by anyone “of woman born” and “Great Birnham to Dunsinane shall come.” (Shakespeare, Act 5, scene 3).
At the time of writing the play Shakespeare was influenced by King James the first of England and the sixth of Scotland. Shakespeare set the scene of the play in Scotland where, as in many countries believe in the supernatural remained strong even amongst god-fearing people.
The inciting incident in the play is surely the first meeting of Macbeth and the three witches. If they had not forecast that he would become King, then perhaps Macbeth would have been content to remain as a loyal and faithful senior nobleman to King Duncan. The witches gave Macbeth the incitement to murder King Duncan, thus steering him away from his loyalty to King Duncan, towards his murderous actions in gaining the throne. This meeting would have to be carefully stage-managed by me to gain maximum impact in the film.
Macbeth experiences several external and internal conflicts in the play. Firstly, he decides he cannot continue with the plan to murder King Duncan but is persuaded to do so by his wife. Following his murder of King Duncan, Macbeth, like his wife is haunted by voices and following the murder of Banquo, someone who had to be eliminated, and becomes racked with guilt and sees ghosts. For Macbeth and his wife, the voices and ghosts cannot be exorcised as they have chosen a murderous path which cannot be undone. As director of the film, I must ensure that such mental torment is portrayed to its fullest but such torments exist in a modern world and can be identified by the audience as such which makes my direction easier.
The climax of the play is the ultimate defeat of Macbeth by Macduff and the realization that the witches second prophesy has come true, that he will die at the hands of someone, not naturally born, but by caesarian birth and the disguised soldiers of his enemies have taken to hiding behind branches as they march forward and my intention here, is to use tanks suitably camouflaged. The historical figure reminding me of Macbeth is one be already mentioned, King James the first of England and the sixth of Scotland who, like, Macbeth was fascinated by witchcraft and whose mother and father were both killed, and whose accession to the throne was achieved by way of political assassinations. The ghost scenes in the play and film can be traditional, as the concept of ghosts has not really changed over the years and the use of modern technology makes the role of the director easier with more convincing special effects.
Macbeth in its original form is a compelling tale of the thirst for power, and the disregard for human life in achieving it. The theme and message in Macbeth is eternally true and modern day adaptations, such as mine, can capture the same feelings and emotions that were portrayed centuries ago. As a director of the film my task was immensely challenging but rewarding for all that and I learned a lot.
Works Cited
Roberts, G. History Review, Issue 47, 2003. Web.
Shakespeare, W. Macbeth. Dir. Rupert Goold. Distributed by PBS distribution. 2010.
Film.
Shakespeare, W. Macbeth. First Folio, England. 1606. Print.
