Lady Macbeth (film)

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Lady Macbeth
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam Oldroyd
Screenplay byAlice Birch
Based on
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District
by Nikolai Leskov
Produced byFodhla Cronin O'Reilly
Starring
CinematographyAri Wegner
Edited byNick Emerson
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byAltitude Film Distribution (UK)
Release dates
  • 10 September 2016 (2016-09-10) (TIFF)
  • 28 April 2017 (2017-04-28) (UK)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUS$620 thousand
Box officeUS$6.4 million

Lady Macbeth is a 2016 British historical fiction feature film set in North East England during the Victorian era. It tells the story of Katherine Lester, a young woman who rids herself of controlling in-laws to live with her workman lover and secure her place in the landed gentry. The film stars Florence Pugh as Katherine, Naomi Ackie as her maid Anna and Cosmo Jarvis as her lover Sebastian. Her husband Alexander Lester and father-in-law Boris Lester are played by Paul Hilton and Christopher Fairbank. It is based on the 1865 novella Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Nikolai Leskov. Lady Macbeth is the debut feature for writer Alice Birch, director William Oldroyd and producer Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly.

With backgrounds in the theatre, Birch and Oldroyd wanted to make a different kind of British period drama.[a] A lavish production, typical of the genre, was not possible on their micro budget of US$620 thousand. The story was moved from central European Russia to Northumberland, England. Birch focused on the crime part of the novella set in and around the Lester family's house, and, by changing how that ended, eliminated the punishment part. Oldroyd's research suggested that the North East was more racially diverse in the 19th century than is generally realised today. Colour-blind casting led to actors of colour in four key roles: Anna and Sebastian in the principal cast and two newly landed gentry characters who led the supporting cast. This added an element of race to the themes of gender and class from the novella.

Lady Macbeth was a minimalist production. The Lesters's house was represented by a small number of sparsely furnished interiors at Lambton Castle, County Durham, while the characters had few changes of costume. It was filmed in 24 days of 2015. The cinematography was largely done with cameras locked static and formally framed shots in the house. An expressionist soundscape was created from recordings of human activity in the house and nature on the estate. The only music in the film is an eerie theme played after each murder.

Lady Macbeth had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2016, and first went on general release in the United Kingdom on 28 April 2017. The film received positive reviews. It won British and European accolades: one for the screenplay, two for the film, three for Pugh's performance and one each for Ackie's feature debut, cinematography and costume design. Lady Macbeth has grossed US$6.4 million worldwide.

Plot

In 1865,[4] Katherine joins the landed gentry by marrying Alexander Lester. His domineering father Boris bought Katherine to produce a legitimate heir with Alexander. They live on Boris's rural estate in Northumberland, England. Little of the couple's backstory emerges. She and her late mother shared an interest in walking and nature. He has a colliery and an illegitimate child across the county in Amble,[b] and a repressed hatred of Boris.

Katherine prepares for the wedding night with her maid Anna, who serves the household with a younger maid and a cook. Alexander arrives and tells Katherine she will live indoors despite her interests. He then tells her to undress but leaves her standing in the dark while he settles down in their bed. Their marriage is never consummated, and she tires of life indoors. One day, Alexander leaves for Amble, while Boris travels to London. In their absence, Katherine enjoys walking around the estate.

Katherine finds the estate workmen abusing Anna in outbuildings, where the men live. Having freed Anna, Katherine is intrigued by the ringleader Sebastian, and they soon begin an overt affair. Anna becomes concerned by Katherine's behaviour, while Katherine suspects Anna has shared her concerns with their priest.

Boris returns. Katherine has drunk his stock of Beaujolais,[c] but Anna takes the blame, and Boris humiliates her. Boris hears about the affair. He beats Sebastian then locks him up. Having argued over Sebastian's release and the lack of an heir, Boris strikes Katherine across her face. The next day, she poisons his breakfast which includes mushrooms foraged by Anna. As Boris struggles in an adjacent room, Katherine orders Anna to sit with her until he falls silent. His death is not generally regarded as suspicious,[d] but Anna is traumatised and goes mute. Alexander refuses to attend Boris's funeral.

Katherine moves Sebastian into the house. Late one night, she wakes as Alexander returns unexpectedly. They meet in their bedroom, while Sebastian hides in the closet. Alexander confronts Katherine over the affair and the damage to his reputation. He says Sebastian will be dismissed, and she will live indoors. Katherine responds by fetching Sebastian for sex. As the men fight, Katherine arms herself with a poker then bludgeons Alexander to death. Evidence of Alexander's return is disposed of in woodland: Sebastian buries his body, while Katherine kills his horse with a shotgun. They live together as mistress and master. Enough time passes that Alexander is generally regarded as missing presumed dead.

A young boy and his grandmother, Teddy and Agnes, arrive to live in the house.[e] Agnes explains that Alexander stayed with them in Amble then left to return home to Katherine. Teddy is his illegitimate son with her late daughter. Alexander made the boy his ward so, as Teddy's legal guardian, Agnes takes Katherine's place as mistress. Sebastian resumes his former working life but is resentful and avoids Katherine.

Katherine realises she is pregnant. Trying to catch up with Sebastian, she upsets Teddy who runs away. Sebastian eventually finds him on a moorland cliff above a waterfall. He considers pushing Teddy over the edge but carries him back to the house to recover from the cold. Bursting in on Katherine, Agnes and doctor Burdon, Sebastian calls for blankets. Agnes objects to him giving orders and tells him to get out.

Sebastian feels humiliated and packs to leave the estate, but Katherine persuades him to stay. Teddy sleeps while Agnes watches him. Having persuaded Agnes to take a break, Katherine lets Sebastian in from outside. She smothers Teddy with a pillow, while he restrains the boy's legs. In the morning, Katherine claims Teddy must have died after she dozed off. However, the doctor notices Teddy was bruised overnight.

Sebastian becomes overwhelmed. As a detective questions Katherine over the bruises, he enters and confesses his part in Teddy's death. Sebastian accuses Katherine of committing all three murders so they could live together. After listening impassively, Katherine counteraccuses him and Anna. She claims Teddy was like her own child, and Agnes comforts her. Anna remains mute when questioned. She and Sebastian are arrested.[f][g] The household's staff leave the estate. Now alone,[h] Katherine resumes her former life indoors.

Cast

Principal


Supporting
  • Golda Rosheuvel as Agnes
  • Anton Palmer as Teddy
  • Fleur Houdijk as the younger maid Tessa
  • Rebecca Manley as the cook Mary
  • Bill Fellows as doctor Burdon
  • Cliff Burnett as the priest father Peter
  • Ian Conningham as detective Logan

Production

Development

Playwright Alice Birch shared the 1865 novella Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District by Nikolai Leskov with theatre director William Oldroyd. Although period dramas are typically lavish productions, they pitched a story based on the novella to iFeatures,[2] an initiative for emerging talent to make low-budget films with the support of Creative England, BBC Films and the British Film Institute.[1] Birch and Oldroyd received a micro budget of £500 thousand (US$620 thousand) to make the first iFeatures period drama.[9][1] Lady Macbeth is the debut feature film for writer Birch, director Oldroyd,[2] and producer Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly.[1]

Pre-production

The screenplay was set in 1865, the year the novella was published. It moved the first part of the novella from a house in the town of Mtsensk, central European Russia to a rural estate in Northumberland, England. Oldroyd knew the area from his time at university in neighbouring County Durham. It had period country houses, built with the proceeds of mining the Durham and Northumberland Coalfields, and rural landscapes that could still pass for the mid-19th century.[4]

Both the novella and Birch's screenplay have Lady Macbeth committing three murders before her lover confesses his part in the crimes. But they differ in how she responds. In the novella, Lady Macbeth chooses to remain with her working-class lover by confessing, and the story continues with their lives as convicts.[5]: chaps. XII–XV  While in the screenplay, Katherine Lester as Lady Macbeth chooses to remain a member of the landed gentry by framing her lover Sebastian and her maid Anna, and the story ends.[10] This meant the screenplay had only one location: the Lester estate. Oldroyd's summary of the approach was "By focusing on a few people in one location who don’t change their clothes very often we could direct all our energy towards the story and realise a radical drama that just happened to be set in the past."[2]

Oldroyd's research suggested that the North East was more racially diverse in the 19th century than is generally realised today. He and casting director Shaheen Baig took a colour-blind approach.[4] In her second feature film, Florence Pugh plays the title role of Katherine Lester.[3] Naomi Ackie and Cosmo Jarvis make their feature debuts as Anna and Sebastian. Older and more established actors Paul Hilton and Christopher Fairbank play Alexander and Boris Lester. Of the five principal roles, the servants are played by black actor Ackie and mixed-race actor Jarvis,[3] while the Lesters are played by white actors. Actors of colour also lead the supporting cast: the established Golda Rosheuvel as Agnes and Anton Palmer as Teddy in his debut feature film.[11][6]

The production and costume designers were Jacqueline Abrahams and Holly Waddington. In contrast to the opulent interiors in British period dramas such as Downton Abbey, the house reflected the Lester men's puritanical natures with sparse furnishings and cold colours.[12] These were influenced by the austere interiors in the paintings of Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916).[2]

Filming

In 2015,[1] the director of photography Ari Wegner filmed Lady Macbeth in 24 days. Following theatre practice, Oldroyd had the scenes filmed in the order they appeared in the screenplay. Digital cameras were used to allow prompt review of takes.[4] The main location was Lambton Castle, County Durham as the Lester estate.[13][i]

Wegner filmed most scenes with cameras locked static. She also repeated shots to show household routines, for example Anna's daily visit to the master bedroom to open the shutters and wake Katherine. Oldroyd and Wegner used formally composed medium-long to medium close-up shots of Katherine indoors when the Lester men were nearby to suggest she was feeling constrained. In contrast, when Katherine was alone walking outdoors, the camera moved with her to suggest she was feeling freer.[2]

Post-production

The editor of Lady Macbeth was Nick Emerson who made the scenes slightly shorter than a viewer might expect to keep the story moving.[12][8] The sound designers were Dan Jones and Ben Baird.[15] They created an expressionist soundscape from recordings of human activity in the house and nature on the estate, which plays unnaturally loud in the film. The only music is an eerie theme,[16] composed by Jones, which plays in the aftermath of Boris and Alexander's murders and from Anna remaining mute under questioning, following Teddy's murder, to the end of the film.

Release

Lady Macbeth had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2016.[17] Lady Macbeth first went on general release in the United Kingdom on 28 April 2017 supported by Altitude Film Distribution.[18][19] It was released in the United States on 14 July 2017 by Roadside Attractions.[18] In November 2017, director William Oldroyd summed up the response to Lady Macbeth as "... enormously good ..." and continued "People have found it to be what we’d hoped we were making, which was a different sort of period drama."[4] Lady Macbeth has grossed US$6.4 million worldwide.[18]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Lady Macbeth has an approval rating of 89% based on 197 reviews.[20] Letterboxd users rate the film as 3.4 out of five stars based on 85 reviews.[21] On Metacritic, opinion on Lady Macbeth is generally favourable based on 61 user reviews.[22] The film also received positive responses from professional film critics. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian newspaper gave it a maximum five stars,[23] Mark Kermode writing for The Observer newspaper awarded four of five stars,[15] while Christy Lemire gave it three of four stars on the Roger Ebert website.[24] Although Guy Lodge did not give a rating in Variety magazine, he wrote "An impressively stark, narratively ruthless Victorian chamber piece that feels about as modern as its crinolines will permit, William Oldroyd's pristine debut feature slowly reveals a violent moral ambiguity that needles the mind far longer than its polite period-piece trappings suggest."[12]

The final cut of Lady Macbeth is 89 minutes long,[25] and Florence Pugh as Katherine Lester is on-screen for 90% of the running time.[4] All four professional critics and Rotten Tomatoes praised her performance. Kermode wrote "..., here Pugh walks a tightrope between audience sympathy and revulsion, a dramatic balancing act that she pulls off with aplomb.", and Lemire agreed. The four critics also praised the performance of Naomi Ackie as Anna. Lemire contrasted the two actors with "As showy as Pugh’s performance is externally, Ackie does just as much mostly wordlessly with just her eyes and her presence, especially as the situation grows more extreme." Lady Macbeth provided what are generally regarded as Pugh and Ackie's breakthrough roles.

Critics Bradshaw, Kermode and Lodge compared Lady Macbeth to the 2011 film Wuthering Heights directed by Andrea Arnold, which both have Paul Hilton in the supporting cast. Kermode noted stylistic similarities to the films of Michael Haneke, which Oldroyd later confirmed were an influence.[4] Bradshaw wrote "[Oldroyd's] movie does an awful lot with a limited budget.", and Kermode agreed.

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Evening Standard British Film Awards 8 December 2016 Malone Souliers Award for Breakthrough of the Year Florence Pugh Won [26]
Les Arcs European Film Festival 16 December 2016 Cineuropa Award Lady Macbeth Won [27][28]
Dublin Film Critics' Circle 26 February 2017 Best Actress Florence Pugh Won [29]
European Film Awards 9 December 2017 Best Actress Florence Pugh Nominated [30]
European Discovery / Prix FIPRESCI Lady Macbeth Won
British Independent Film Awards 10 December 2017
Best British Independent Film Lady Macbeth Nominated [31]
Best Director William Oldroyd Nominated
The Douglas Hickox Award (Debut Director) Nominated
Best Actress Florence Pugh Won
Best Supporting Actress Naomi Ackie Nominated
Most Promising Newcomer Won
Cosmo Jarvis Nominated
Best Screenplay Alice Birch Won
Best Debut Screenwriter Nominated
Breakthrough Producer Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly Nominated
Best Casting Shaheen Baig Nominated
Best Cinematography Ari Wegner Won
Best Costume Design Holly Waddington Won
Best Make-up and Hair Design Sian Wilson Nominated
Best Production Design Jacqueline Abrahams Nominated
Belgian Film Critics Association 7 January 2018 Grand Prix Lady Macbeth Nominated [32]
Goya Awards 3 February 2018 Best European Film Nominated [33]
British Academy Film Awards 18 February 2018 BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer Alice Birch (Writer), William Oldroyd (Director), Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly (Producer) Nominated [34]
Outstanding British Film Lady Macbeth Nominated
Independent Spirit Awards 3 March 2018 Best International Film William Oldroyd Nominated [35]

Notes

  1. Lady Macbeth is generally referred to as a period drama.[1][2][3][4] However, on Wikipedia that term is an alias for historical drama which depicts historical events and characters; on Wikipedia the fictional events and characters of Lady Macbeth are historical fiction.
  2. Whether Boris Lester knows that Alexander already has an illegitimate child when he marries Katherine is not made clear.
  3. Boris Lester calls for a bottle of Fleurie named after a village which produces Cru Beaujolais.
  4. In the film and the novella, the final meal of Lady Macbeth's father-in-law includes mushrooms. In the film, he eats breakfast and dies minutes later. The cook suggests his death may have been caused by mushroom poisoning or a heart problem, and mentions his weak stomach and old age. In the novella, he eats supper and dies overnight. Although the cause of death is generally regarded to be mushroom poisoning, the text implies that she laced his meal with rat poison.[5]: 67 
  5. Teddy was played by six-year-old Anton Palmer in his feature film debut.[6]
  6. According to Alexander Lester, the affair between Katherine and Sebastian is widely known across the county. It is also known by the household's staff. In his confession, Sebastian says he had a relationship with Katherine. However, Katherine denies this, and the police apparently accept her word without further investigation.
  7. Accused of the capital crime of murder, Anna and Sebastian are handcuffed and leave the estate in custody. They will be tried at a Court of Assize before a judge and jury.[7]
  8. Although Agnes is not seen leaving the estate, Katherine is left alone in the Lesters's house at the end of Lady Macbeth, according to its director William Oldroyd.[8]
  9. The Lambton family built their castle in the Durham Coalfield partly with the proceeds of coal mining.[14]

References

  1. Wiseman, Andreas (22 September 2015). "Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis Cast in 'Lady Macbeth'". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  2. Wood, Jason (20 April 2017). "Lady Macbeth: 'We Needed Somebody Who Had the Strength to Carry Out Despicable Deeds'". British Film Institute. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  3. Ursell, Joe (2 May 2017). "Subverting the Period Drama with Lady Macbeth". Into Film. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  4. Wise, Damon (30 November 2017). "Making Lady Macbeth". British Independent Film Awards. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  5. Leskov, Nikolai (1865). The Lady Macbeth of the Mzinsk District . Translated by Chamot, Alfred Edward – via Wikisource.
  6. Arnold, Stuart (24 October 2016). "Darlington Twins Star in First Feature Film – Aged Just Six". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  7. "The Assizes". London: UK Parliament. n.d. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  8. McDonnell, Ross (28 April 2017). "The Most Trapped: Discussing "Lady Macbeth" with William Oldroyd". Notebook. Mubi. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  9. Macnab, Geoffrey (6 December 2016). "The Growing Value of Micro-Budget Films". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  10. Rann, James (30 May 2017). "Inferiority Complex: Why the New Film Adaptation of Lady Macbeth is Too Subtle for its Own Good". Jordan Centre for the Advanced Study of Russia. New York University. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  11. de Jesus, Desirée (6 September 2018). Williams, Missouri (ed.). "Why 'Lady Macbeth' is the Intersectional Feminist Film You Didn't Know You Needed". Another Gaze: A Journal of Films and Feminisms. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  12. Lodge, Guy (9 September 2016). "Film Review: 'Lady Macbeth'". Variety. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  13. Masters, Tim (28 April 2017). "Lady Macbeth: Florence Pugh on Her Killer First Lead Role". BBC News. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  14. "Lambton Castle & the Lamb Bridge". Lambton Park. n.d. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  15. Kermode, Mark (30 April 2017b). "Lady Macbeth Review - With Murder in Her Mind". The Observer. London. Retrieved 11 June 2026 – via The Guardian.
  16. Kermode, Mark (28 April 2017a). "Lady Macbeth Review". Kermode & Mayo's Film Review. 2:17 minutes in. BBC Radio 5 Live. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
  17. Nolfi, Joey (22 February 2017). "Toronto Film Festival 2016: Magnificent Seven, La La Land to Screen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  18. "Lady Macbeth". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  19. Grater, Tom (20 September 2016). "Protagonist Scores Key 'Lady Macbeth' Sales". Screen Daily. Screen International. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  20. "Lady Macbeth (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. n.d. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  21. "Lady Macbeth (2016)". Letterboxd. n.d. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  22. "Lady Macbeth User Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. n.d. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  23. Bradshaw, Peter (17 April 2017). "Lady Macbeth Review – a Brilliantly Chilling Subversion of a Classic". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  24. Lemire, Christy (14 July 2014). "Lady Macbeth". Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  25. "Lady Macbeth". British Board of Film Classification. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  26. Norum, Ben (9 December 2016). "Evening Standard British Film Awards: Kate Beckinsale and Hugh Grant Crowned Winners". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  27. "'Glory' Wins Top Prize at Les Arcs European Film Festival". Screen Daily. Screen International. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  28. Keslassy, Elsa (16 December 2016). "'Glory,' 'Home,' 'The Fixer' Among Winners at Les Arcs Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  29. "Dublin Film Critics' Circle Awards". 26 February 2017. Archived from the original on 27 May 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  30. "Lady Macbeth". European Film Awards. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  31. Tartaglione, Nancy (1 November 2017). "'Lady Macbeth' Leads British Independent Film Awards Nominations – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  32. "Grand Prix UCC 2018: Cinq Finalistes Issus de Quatre Pays, Le Cavens à Home". 6néma (in French). 22 December 2017. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  33. "Todos Los Nominados a Los Premios Goya 2018". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  34. "BAFTA Film Awards 2018: The Winners in Full". BBC News. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  35. "2018 Independent Spirit Awards: Winners List". Variety. 3 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2026.