Pigs will fly, pigs will fly...... (Macbeth)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Macbeth
Date:	11/11/09 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Acting, adaptation, dark mood

Disadvantages: May not be suitable for younger viewers

Before last night, I had never really see James McAvoy get his teeth into something really gritty, where he can let go and explore a darker side to his nature. I know he has been in Shameless, but usually I see the softer side of him, from the shy and timid character he plays in Last King of Scotland, to the dork in Starter For 10.

Shakespeare's Macbeth is a very dark and back-stabbingly engrossing tale. Never really having paid much attention to it before, I started watching this late last night, as the second of a 4 episode disc where the BBC takes Shakespeare's plays and gives them a modern adaptation, making them current. Macbeth originally sees the lengths someone will go to to try and secure the throne of Scotland. What the BBC have managed to here is make it very current and set it in the cutthroat and high intense world of Michelin starred restaurants.

Chef Joe Macbeth runs a tight ship. He has command in the kitchen, his goal to nab that all too important third Michelin star for the restaurant. The only problem? It's not his name getting the star. For celebrity chef Duncan is the owner, and many believe him to be the one doing all the cooking. But even the dishes he shows on TV are ones created and perfected by Joe himself. When he announces to Joe that unless something happens to him in the near future, he wants his son to inherit the restaurant and run the place, taking ownership.

Macbeth (McAvoy) and his wife Ella (an outstanding Keeley Hawes) are so desperate to have the place, but how far will they go to ensure it's theirs? Well, in fact, it's this desperation that the hour and a half programme focuses mainly on, with the relatively happy Macbeth slowly but surely turning embittered as his desire for success and notoriety turns him into a murdering savage. The development of his character is phenomenally performed by McAvoy, and the cold and calculating Ella is magnificently portrayed by a sultry Hawes. The two really sizzle on screen.

There are other good performances, but the main focus really is on these two, and how their dastardly deeds start off an avalanche of desperate behaviour, struggling to live with themselves. The play on words, although not Shakespearean in its origins, is thorough and crafty throughout, and the way the play is adapted is cleverly thought out and adapted.

While the basics of Shakespeare's original seem to be followed, stalwarts of the bard's style and original plot will likely be a bit aggrieved, as various amendments have been made. Characters can be compared, such as the three hags in the play becoming the three bin men in this BBC adaptation. These three are very integral to the plot, predicting Macbeth's future with cryptic mesages and clues, and it is quite haunting at times to see how the clever wording realises itself later on.

It is quite dark in places. As the tale develops, more and more filming is done with lights dimmed or off, and this adds very well to the darkening mood and atmosphere, almost as if it follows Joe's mental state quite closely. The atmosphere of a high quality Michelin kitchen is well grasped, with effective and believable scenarios acted out convincingly. Indeed, it is the details such as these which actually help the whole thign to succeed.

It is also rather graphic. We are shown how to trim a pig's head to ensure we get the 'best' bits, and there is no holding back with the process being shown on camera. There are also some creepy and surreal moments when the violence occurs. As Macbeth's mental state is explored and developed, so to does the score add to the eerie and freaky feel to it. Given a '12' rating, I can't help think that at times it may even need a bit of a higher rating, so disturbing are some of the screens.

Yet these aren't too regular, and it is mainly the way our two leads develop themselves over the course of the tale, Macbeth transforming from a relaxed chef on top of his game to a sleepless, ratty chef with irrational decision making; and Ella going from being a cool, calm and collected hostess to a nervous wreck struggling to keep it all together. Curiously enough, the other characters hardly develop at all, which enhances the emphasis on the other two, making it all the more effective.

Overall, it is a stunning portrayal of what must be one of the most well known of Shakespeare's plays. A tragedy through and through, the modern twist certainly works for me, and while some who would prefer the bard's original tale may not like the changes, for one like me who doesn't know much different, it's a great tale, well told, and superbly acted. I have a DVD copy, the 2-disc set containing four Shakespeare adaptations in total. It was originally aired as a one off BBC 1 drama in 2005. If you can catch it re-airing, then I strongly recommend you do so, but if not, have a hunt for the DVD. It won't cost you much, and it's brilliantly done. Recommended.

Summary: Fantastic BBC adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth