‎Lady Macbeth (2016) directed by William Oldroyd • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Lady Macbeth

2016 Directed by William Oldroyd

The passionate affair of a young woman trapped in a marriage of convenience unleashes a maelstrom of murder and mayhem on a country estate.

Florence Pugh Cosmo Jarvis Paul Hilton Naomi Ackie Christopher Fairbank Golda Rosheuvel Anton Palmer Rebecca Manley Fleur Houdijk Cliff Burnett David Kirkbride Bill Fellows Nicholas Lumley Raymond Finn Ian Conningham Finn Burridge Jack Robertson Kema Sikazwe Elliot Sinclair Andrew Davis Alan Billingham Bailey Palmer

Country

Language

English

drama

89 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by davidehrlich ★★★★ 8

the milk of human kindness has most definitely gone sour.

can't remember the last time i saw anything that offered such a nuanced, slippery portrait of moral decline [insert joke about the GOP here].

highly recommended for fans of ladies, macbeth, the handmaiden, and / or murder on the moors.
Review by kevinyang ★★★½ 2

I'm making a list called "performances that are better than most of the 2018 Oscar nominations" and Florence Pugh is already on it.
Review by Wesley R. Ball ★★★½ 10

My mom: I wonder why they don't want her going outside at all?
*cuts to the 4th sex scene in ten minutes*
Mom: Maybe that's why.
Review by Josh Rosenthal ★★★★ 2

hell hath no fury like a woman bored.
Review by iana ★★★½ 2

if someone asks me what white feminism is i'll show them this movie
Review by davidehrlich ★★★★ 2

There aren’t very many words spoken in William Oldroyd’s “Lady Macbeth” — most of the communication is done through sex, abuse, and murder — but not a one of them is wasted or forgotten. Indeed, the film’s emblematically terse first exchange looms over the 85 minutes that follow like a dark shadow on a bitter day, and it’s proof that Florence Pugh deserves more attention in this year’s competitive awards season.

It’s Katherine’s (Pugh) wedding night, and the 17-year-old bride is being dressed for her deflowering. Her new husband’s chambermaid does the honors, Anna (Naomi Ackie), slipping the girl into her nightgown. “Are you cold?” Anna asks, a valid question on a brutal winter night in the North of England…

Recent reviews

Review by nathankerce ★★★½

Imagine liking sex THIS much. Jesus Christ.
Review by maddienewell ★★½ 2

Uuuuhhh not sure how I feel about this one lads
Review by superAA ½

MacShit
Review by Paul Davis ★★★★

I really enjoyed the first act, and thought Florence Pugh was pretty great and captivating and sexy. Once everything starts to unravel it got a little less interesting for me, and the end didn’t feel dark or like a big character turn/reveal or anything, just a natural, underwhelming conclusion to the story.
Review by Carl Hudson ★★½

Had some things going for it, Pugh especially, but I didn't feel any of it. The violence was toothless and the romance banal.
Review by Mezzanine ★★★½

Verhaal was af en toe wel erg kort de bocht en onwaarschijnlijk, maar dat werd goed gemaakt door de mooie kale (bij gebrek aan beter) soort calvinistische sfeer, mooie beelden en een ijzersterke Florence Pugh. Velen malen beter dan een gemiddeld kostuumdrama.
Review by Dave Jackson ★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Lady Macbeth plays a nasty game with its audience. Florence Pugh as Katherine almost instantly receives our sympathies. She's someone we can get behind as her prison-like marriage and boredom blossoms into rebellion. Even after poisoning her father-in-law, she somehow has the moral high ground. But, throughout her dive into immorality, director William Oldroyd slips in utterly reprehensible actions. Katherine's ever-worsening treatment of Anna (Naomi Ackie) is the first hint and where we end up is shocking to say the least. It is a bleak and oddly entertaining watch. Even if you can't get into Katherine's grim story, visually, the film is gorgeous with a beautiful, muted colour scheme, a naturalistic sound design, meticulous framing and perfectly placed art direction. And, as pretty much every review points out, Pugh is phenomenal in the lead. I hope she gets another interesting role like this.
Review by Cyrus Cohen ★★★★

“Lady Macbeth” has absolutely nothing to do with the Shakespeare play of the same name except for some murderous parallels between its characters. Florence Pugh stars as Katherine Lester, a woman who’s married off to Alexander, a cruel and wealthy businessman who only treats her with contempt. While he’s off traveling, Katherine gets closer with Sebastian—a much younger employee of her husband—after she finds him and many other workers abusing the Lester family’s maid, Anna. Although Katherine protects Anna in this moment, her care for the other woman is distinctly secondary to her attraction to Sebastian. As the film progresses, Katherine and Sebastian use wicked tactics, cunning manipulation, and immense violence in order to stay together despite potential threats from…
Review by kkimbell ★★★½

I admire the craft of the movie and Pugh's performance, but the narrative left me as cold as the child sitting by the waterfall. Maybe that's Oldroyd's point as he tackles class, gender, and race, but I needed a little more humanity.