'Lady Macbeth' is the tale of a woman lumbered with a monstrous husband and father-in-law who, driven in part by lust, sets out to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. Unlike her Shakesperian namesake, it's not her character who ends up consumed with guilt. The film features no background music, sparse dialogue and some of the key scenes occur off-camera or the action is filmed in a stationary and unmelodramatic way; meanwhile, the sex-drive is presented as absolutely elemental. The result is deliberately stilted (the opening minutes reminded of Joanna Hogg's work), yet for all that, suprisingly emotionally compelling.
Review of Lady Macbeth
