‎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 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…
Review by Josh Rosenthal ★★★★ 2

hell hath no fury like a woman bored.
Review by Mike D'Angelo ★★½ 1

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…

Recent reviews

Review by Becky G ★★½

No está mal, pero tampoco me ha encantado. Tiene sus puntos fuertes como lo es el papel de Florence Pugh, la actriz protagonista (que por cierto, amé su vestido azul). Considero que la idea principal está muy bien llevada y representa bastante bien lo que nos quiere decir con el título. Cuando digo que no me ha encantado es porque no he simpatizado con ningún personaje, y eso para mí le resta muchos puntos
Review by Isaac Edwards ★★★½

Absorbing and dramatic, and nice that it's able to take inspiration from Lady Macbeth without actually using the character herself. Just feels slightlyyy too short.
Review by Paula Jordan ★★★

Florence Pugh is ridiculously good in this film.
Review by Niall Greenlees ★★★½

Emmmm??

Chill lol
Review by Athryn ★★★★

This is one of those movies that's just gorgeous to watch, a great example of visual storytelling. I was sympathetic to the main character at the beginning, but by the end of lost all of that sympathy. It's a great example of the power women can world.
Review by João Morgado ★★★

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

Me thinking this would be a straight up massacre but there were only like 3 murders so
The cast was pretty good tho
Review by Alex Acton-Jones ★★★

itunes
all the white feminism jokes are already used up. god this was fucked up. overall the grim tone appealled to me and the ever-increasing ruthlessness of our protagonist was interesting to watch. some of the underlying racial politics make it very uncomfortable at times, even to the point where in one scene i was questioning if the film was going too far (it was).

performances were all round excellent, and it was beautifully shot. some elements were a bit mixed, it's never boring but the film maybe could've done with a stronger narrative instead of seemingly segmented and escelating yet easily solved issues.

if you like to watch films where you grow nothing but contempt for the main characters, give this one a watch.
Review by samh43 ★★★½

This film is 'The Handmaidens' evil white sister.
Review by Robert Fuller ★★★½

I liked it. It's hard to think of things to say about such a rigidly crafted film, one that offers no surprises and doesn't attempt any, but merely executes a cut-and-dried story with skill and efficiency. A different title might have been a good idea in that regard, but I get it, it was based on a book, and there's something to be said for having the plot more or less mapped out for us in advance. I liked it.