Reliance Entertainment – Rs. 649/-
Cast: Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Paul Hilton, Naomi Ackie, Christopher Fairbank
Directed by: William Oldroyd
‘Lady Macbeth’ is based not on the iconic Shakespearean character, but on Nikolai Leskov’s Russian novella “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk.” The film while being a period drama, gives audiences a nail biting experience of a brutal psychological thriller. The cruelty is unacceptable, but the manner in which the series of events take place, is sure to leave you stumped.
Circa: 1865. We have a 19 year old Katherine (Florence Pugh) all set to get forcibly married to Alexander (Paul Hilton) a man twice her age. In what should be joyous day, it’s a gloomy day for Katherine, who has actually been purchased along with a plot of land by Alexander’s father, the wealthy mine owner Boris (Christopher Fairbank). Boris’s main idea in marrying off his son is to provide an heir to the property after his death. But the aftermath of the wedding night shows nothing of the sort is going to happen in the future.
Katherine’s soon in the bedroom with her husband, who isn’t interested in her sexually or any other way. On their first night together, he brusquely orders her to undress, face the wall, leaving her naked, untouched and puzzled, while he satisfies himself. Katherine is forbidden from leaving the house and has to adhere to the rules of a strict father in law. Katherine is more of a prisoner than a wife.
Katherine attends to the daily chores with her black maid Anna (Naomi Ackie), the only witness to her sadness. Things take a turn when Alexander and Boris are forced to leave the family’s remote estate on business. Katherine, who loves the outdoors, takes the opportunity to begin exploring the outside world which prompts an awakening inside her. One day she enters the staff quarters where a few workers are mercilessly abusing Anna. She stops the torture and reprimands the molester Sebastian (Cosmo Jarvis) a strong and handsome man of mixed race. Soon she feels a strong attraction to Sebastian. She meets up with him on the sly initially outdoors and in her room at night.
From now on the film takes its course on the extra marital affair of Katherine and Sebastian. Saying anymore would spoil the fun.
For the beautiful Katherine who has not consummated her marriage, we see her and Sebastian multiple times in bed. But even before most of the steamy love making scenes begin, it seems to have been chopped abruptly, with very little skin show. Audiences would really feel let down, considering the plot of the film. No intoxicating eye candy for lovers of romance. The DVD is also devoid of any bonus features.
– By Verus Ferreira
