Lady Macbeth
Period drama adapted from Nikolai Leskov's novel Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. Directed by Sundance Grand Jury Prize-nominee William Oldroyd.
"Lady Katherine (Florence Pugh) is a young misfit in the stifling social atmosphere of Victorian England. Locked in a marriage of convenience to a much older man, marooned on an estate amidst the northern heaths of County Durham, Katherine strains against the social mores of the time. Lectured at by the local priest, tormented by a father-in-law who expects her to provide an heir, she paces her constrictive world like a wild animal looking for escape. She soon finds an outlet for her passions in Sebastian (Cosmo Jarvis), a young groom who is one of her husband's many servants. Those passions could be their undoing." (Toronto International Film Festival)
- Director:
- William Oldroyd (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Alice Birch
- Cast:
- Florence PughCosmo JarvisChristopher FairbankBill FellowsPaul HiltonIan ConninghamNaomi AckieJoseph Teague
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Matt Glasby
flicksAdapted from the 1865 novella by Russian author Nikolai Leskov, but transplanted to the UK’s bleak Northumberland moors, William Oldroyd's debut plays out like a Victorian Handmaid's Tale. The first scene shows young Katherine (Florence Pugh) married off to local landowner Alexander (Paul Hilton), her face completely wrapped in a wedding veil that looks more like a shroud.
Low budget, high achievements.
This is the first feature film from director William Oldroyd, a riveting period drama / film noir that keeps you wanting more. Florence Pugh brilliantly plays the title character, Katherine, that we see evolve in many ways as the film advances. Starting as a victim of her circumstances , it isn't long before she takes control of her situation ... no...
Lady M's subtle arthouse meditation
Adapted not from Shakespeare’s Scottish play, but from Nikolai Leskov’s Russian novel, William Oldroyd’s understated, glacially paced, atmospheric, minimalist masterpiece takes a long, cold, hard look at the patriarchal subjugation of women. In 19th Century rural England, Katherine (Florence Pugh) is sold to a bullying, middle-aged man. Finding an outlet...
Female hubris
Nothing to do with Shakespeare's play but a tragedy of circumstances and miscalculation. Katherine acts to escape her circumstances and one action leads to another. Shot on a limited set of locations with a smallish cast and high production values. It feels like a play. There are a couple of weak plot points to be glossed over but overall while the pace...
a shallow darkly Gothic tale with Shakespearean pretensions
It is usually a fail-proof formula for British filmmakers: gorgeous 19th century costumes, lavishly detailed period sets, and an angel-faced murderess who eliminates her oppressors. The film Lady Macbeth (2017) has the right ingredients but the whole barely rises above its parts. Apart from its classic title, this darkly Gothic adaptation of an 1865 Russian...
Variety
pressFlorence Pugh announces herself as a major talent to watch in William Oldroyd's impressively tough-minded Victorian tragedy.
Total Film
pressMadame Bovary meets Thérèse Raquin with a splash of Lady Chatterley in a pared-down drama that packs a real punch.
Time Out
pressThis brilliantly feminist British indie film plunges a cold, sharp knife into the back of bonnet dramas.
The Guardian
pressIt could well open up a dark new avenue in the bonnets-and-bows world of classic literary adaptation.
Screen Daily
pressA powerfully austere nineteenth-century drama, and an uncompromising attempt to make that rare thing, a genuine British art film.
Hollywood Reporter
pressLady Macbeth mostly operates within established period conventions, but draws fresh blood from antique material thanks to a sparky cast, subtle nods to contemporary race and gender issues, and a hefty shot of gothic melodrama.
Empire Magazine
pressThis intelligently scripted and imposingly played costume noir revisits the conventions of Victorian melodrama to comment on modern attitudes to oppression, prejudice and morality.
Flicks, Matt Glasby
flicksAdapted from the 1865 novella by Russian author Nikolai Leskov, but transplanted to the UK’s bleak Northumberland moors, William Oldroyd's debut plays out like a Victorian Handmaid's Tale. The first scene shows young Katherine (Florence Pugh) married off to local landowner Alexander (Paul Hilton), her face completely wrapped in a wedding veil that looks more like a shroud.
Variety
pressFlorence Pugh announces herself as a major talent to watch in William Oldroyd's impressively tough-minded Victorian tragedy.
Total Film
pressMadame Bovary meets Thérèse Raquin with a splash of Lady Chatterley in a pared-down drama that packs a real punch.
Time Out
pressThis brilliantly feminist British indie film plunges a cold, sharp knife into the back of bonnet dramas.
The Guardian
pressIt could well open up a dark new avenue in the bonnets-and-bows world of classic literary adaptation.
Screen Daily
pressA powerfully austere nineteenth-century drama, and an uncompromising attempt to make that rare thing, a genuine British art film.
Hollywood Reporter
pressLady Macbeth mostly operates within established period conventions, but draws fresh blood from antique material thanks to a sparky cast, subtle nods to contemporary race and gender issues, and a hefty shot of gothic melodrama.
Empire Magazine
pressThis intelligently scripted and imposingly played costume noir revisits the conventions of Victorian melodrama to comment on modern attitudes to oppression, prejudice and morality.
Low budget, high achievements.
This is the first feature film from director William Oldroyd, a riveting period drama / film noir that keeps you wanting more. Florence Pugh brilliantly plays the title character, Katherine, that we see evolve in many ways as the film advances. Starting as a victim of her circumstances , it isn't long before she takes control of her situation ... no...
Lady M's subtle arthouse meditation
Adapted not from Shakespeare’s Scottish play, but from Nikolai Leskov’s Russian novel, William Oldroyd’s understated, glacially paced, atmospheric, minimalist masterpiece takes a long, cold, hard look at the patriarchal subjugation of women. In 19th Century rural England, Katherine (Florence Pugh) is sold to a bullying, middle-aged man. Finding an outlet...
Female hubris
Nothing to do with Shakespeare's play but a tragedy of circumstances and miscalculation. Katherine acts to escape her circumstances and one action leads to another. Shot on a limited set of locations with a smallish cast and high production values. It feels like a play. There are a couple of weak plot points to be glossed over but overall while the pace...
a shallow darkly Gothic tale with Shakespearean pretensions
It is usually a fail-proof formula for British filmmakers: gorgeous 19th century costumes, lavishly detailed period sets, and an angel-faced murderess who eliminates her oppressors. The film Lady Macbeth (2017) has the right ingredients but the whole barely rises above its parts. Apart from its classic title, this darkly Gothic adaptation of an 1865...
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