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…

42/100

Even skeptics tend to praise Florence Pugh's performance in the title role, but I submit that her talent obscures some fundamentally poor choices (for which director William Oldroyd shares the blame, of course). An appalling metamorphosis is what's called for, but Pugh works overtime to signal what's coming, right from the outset; she seems disturbed even before the patriarchal nightmare has a chance to warp her. (I suppose one could argue that significant warping occurred throughout the character's childhood, but that's not exactly dramatically satisfying.) Consequently, there's no sense of tragedy or loss here—just a monster whose increasingly horrific crimes are shallowly contextualized by her own mistreatment. Doesn't help that the grand passion that ostensibly motivates Katherine plays like…

Aprecio mucho las películas que ponen en serios conflictos a los espectadores, y siento que Oldroyd logró hacerlo muy bien con su Lady Macbeth. Inicialmente nos presenta a una mujer que es tratada como un objeto. Su familia la incluye en un trato con un landlord como parte del intercambio, y sin deberla ni temerla se ve casada con el hijo del hacendatario. Tanto él como su padre la tratan como si no fuera más que un mueble e inclusive le impiden salir de su habitación, teniendo que ser una esposa abnegada que solamente reaccione, conviva y casi respire gracias a la benevolencia de su marido.

Hasta este momento todo bien, uno conecta con la protagonista sin problema alguno (y…