Blaine: No this is not something William Shakespeare wrote. “Lady Macbeth” is based on the novel, “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" from 1865 written by Nikolai Leskov.
Plot(Spoiler Alert)
In rural England, 1865, a young woman, Katherine, feels trapped in a loveless marriage. She is told to stay indoors and basically do nothing. Her husband goes on a trip while she stays behind. Katherine grows interest in one of the workers, Sebastian. The two have an affair and she has never felt more alive.
Blaine: In this image the colors are natural and muted except for the bright blue dress that pops out of the scene.
Blaine: Katherine starts off as someone who is excited to get married, but after being married for 12 hours she realizes it is not the way she thought it was going to be. She just wants love and to be touched instead of her husband having her stand in one position naked while he jacks off. Katherine also hates being told what to do. Then she meets one the workers and even though he kind of acts like a drunk, still there is something about him she grows an interest for. And then he gives her everything she has wanted. Katherine has found her true love.
After reading the book, director William Oldroyd was surprised that there wasn’t a lot of adaptions of “Lady Macbeth”. There was a 1970s black and white version and an opera, but that was just it. William Oldroyd had decided after that to make “Lady Macbeth” his first full length feature. The casting director had Florence Pugh in mind for Katherine after casting her in the 2014 film, “The Falling”. She sent Florence an email saying she would like her to come in and audition for “Lady Macbeth”. Florence thought it was some kind of Shakespeare thing at first. She also thought it would take a lot of work to prepare herself for an audition like that especially when you have one day to prepare yourself. Florence was freaking out at first, but the email the casting director sent explained everything she needed to do in order to prepare herself for the audition.
Florence Pugh wanted to play Katherine because she is a strong character and as she was reading through the script she wanted Katherine to succeed. Florence Pugh kept going in to audition so that William Oldroyd and a few others could make sure that she was right for the part. And then she got the part. The actors had to rehearse for ten days before principal photography began. “Lady Macbeth” had a very tight schedule and they only shot it for three and a half weeks. “Lady Macbeth” was shot in the Lambton Estate in Chester-le-Street, a beach in the coastal town of Seaham and Cow Green Reserve near Hugh Force in Teasdale. There are some scenes in “Lady Macbeth” that look like paintings and they were influenced by the Dutch Master painter Vermeer (who used window light).
Florence Pugh found it very difficult that she couldn’t speak much while they were shooting the first 15 minutes of the film. Another thing that bothered her was her character couldn’t talk back at her husband. Florence didn’t want to make Katherine feel like she is a villain. She wanted to make her more accessible, very human and very lovable.
Florence Pugh’s hair is blonde and she had to dye it dark red so that it could go well with the colors of the different dresses she was wearing and blend in with the surrounding colors. Florence was wearing real 19th Century dresses that the costume designer had spiffed up. The costume designer found them while he was in Paris. There was a scene they shot of Katherine dancing, but the back of the dress kept ripping every time she jumped and so that scene never made it into the film.
Katherine’s husband knows she has been having an affair and she doesn’t give a shit if he is upset about it because Katherine herself is upset enough being married to someone who treats her like she is an object instead of wife. All Katherine wants is to feel alive and she won’t let her husband take it away from her. Katherine uses all her rage on her husband and kills him by bashing his head. Katherine and her lover get rid of the body. Katherine feels she can settle down now that her husband is gone, but there’s still a piece of him that remains and that is his son, Teddy. Katherine had no idea her husband had a child. Teddy becomes a pain in the neck for Katherine and he is to have control of everything, so two things happen. First Katherine’s lover, Sebastian, tries to drown Teddy, but he doesn’t finish the job because killing a man is one thing, but killing a child would be too much. Sebastian brings Teddy back. Katherine finishes the job by putting a pillow over Teddy’s face.
Towards the end Sebastian confesses everything because he can’t live like this. The guilt was eating him away. You can tell that Katherine is devastated that her lover is confessing everything that they did. She shows a straight face, but it’s also a disappointing look as well. Florence put a lot into that scene.
Katherine killed her father in law by poisoning him, then bashed her husband’s head several times until he was dead and finally smothered Teddy. After Sebastian is finished confessing, Katherine manages to lie her way out and say Sebastian did it all. Katherine makes herself very convincing when she lies.
I know having her lover being taken away and taking all the blame for what they did was very hard for Katherine because she loved him and everything she did was so that they could be together, be at peace without anymore trouble in the way and raise the child she is carrying inside her. In the end, Katherine realizes that everything she has done has gone too far now that what she was fighting for is gone. Florence Pugh believes Katherine’s pregnancy is what keeps her fighting till the very end.
My rating on “Lady Macbeth” is five out of five stars.
This image is soft outdoor light (it’s sunny but soft, not harsh, not overpowering)
