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Lady Macbeth

  • 2016
  • R
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
29K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,506
834
Florence Pugh in Lady Macbeth (2016)
In this adaptation of Nikolai Leskov's novella "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk, a 19th century young bride is sold into marriage to a middle-aged man.
Play trailer2:34
5 Videos
99+ Photos
Dark RomanceDramaRomance

In 19th-century rural England, a young bride who has been sold into marriage discovers an unstoppable desire within herself as she enters into an affair with a worker on her estate.In 19th-century rural England, a young bride who has been sold into marriage discovers an unstoppable desire within herself as she enters into an affair with a worker on her estate.In 19th-century rural England, a young bride who has been sold into marriage discovers an unstoppable desire within herself as she enters into an affair with a worker on her estate.

  • Director
    • William Oldroyd
  • Writers
    • Nikolai Leskov
    • Alice Birch
  • Stars
    • Florence Pugh
    • Cosmo Jarvis
    • Paul Hilton
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    29K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,506
    834
    • Director
      • William Oldroyd
    • Writers
      • Nikolai Leskov
      • Alice Birch
    • Stars
      • Florence Pugh
      • Cosmo Jarvis
      • Paul Hilton
    • 133User reviews
    • 236Critic reviews
    • 76Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
      • 24 wins & 58 nominations total

    Videos5

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:34
    Official Trailer
    Youre Awake
    Clip 0:55
    Youre Awake
    Youre Awake
    Clip 0:55
    Youre Awake
    Parted
    Clip 0:28
    Parted
    Lady Macbeth: You're Awake
    Clip 0:54
    Lady Macbeth: You're Awake
    Lady Macbeth: Parted
    Clip 0:28
    Lady Macbeth: Parted

    Photos127

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    Top cast22

    Edit
    Florence Pugh
    Florence Pugh
    • Katherine
    Cosmo Jarvis
    Cosmo Jarvis
    • Sebastian
    Paul Hilton
    Paul Hilton
    • Alexander
    Naomi Ackie
    Naomi Ackie
    • Anna
    Christopher Fairbank
    Christopher Fairbank
    • Boris
    Golda Rosheuvel
    Golda Rosheuvel
    • Agnes
    Anton Palmer
    Anton Palmer
    • Teddy
    Rebecca Manley
    • Mary
    Fleur Houdijk
    • Tessa
    Cliff Burnett
    • Father Peter
    David Kirkbride
    David Kirkbride
    • Edward
    Bill Fellows
    Bill Fellows
    • Dr. Burdon
    Nicholas Lumley
    • Mr. Robertson
    Raymond Finn
    • Mr. Kirkbride
    Ian Conningham
    Ian Conningham
    • Detective Logan
    Finn Burridge
    Finn Burridge
    • Farmhand
    Jack Robertson
    Jack Robertson
    • Farmhand
    Kema Sikazwe
    • Farmhand
    • (as Kema Slkazwe)
    • Director
      • William Oldroyd
    • Writers
      • Nikolai Leskov
      • Alice Birch
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews133

    6.828.8K
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    Featured reviews

    Gordon-11

    What a ruthless woman will do

    This film tells the story of a young woman who is sold into a loveless marriage with an older wealthy gentleman. She has a passionate affair with a servant of the house. The promise of a happier life eludes her, until she takes full control of the situation.

    Initially I thought the film was really about Macbeth's wife, but I soon learn that it is not the case. The title comes from the similar ruthlessness and cold bloodedness that the leading woman and Lady Macbeth have. It is engaging to see how Katherine transforms from a timid woman into a sociopathic woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. The pacing is a little slow, with artistic shots lasting 10 or even 20 seconds but does not really help story telling. Overall, the story is good and Katherine's character is very interesting.
    7markgorman

    It's Grim up north

    I'm not familiar with the Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk short story by Nikolai Neskov (not to be confused with Lady Macbeth by William Shakespeare) which he wrote as a novella in 1865, although it is inspired by the famous play.

    the book inspired Shostakovich to write an opera based on it.

    Now we have a British film that feels incredibly French (incredibly Michael Haneke, who I think is actually Austrian) to add to its cannon.

    It features a career defining performance by Florence Pugh in the title role; although the men are magnificent too (most notably Christopher Fairbanks as the intolerant Father in Law).

    If you like Christopher Fairbanks through his Guardians of the Galaxy fame this is not the movie for you as it moves at glacial pace with very little dialogue, virtually no music and a LOT of fixed frames where you are invited to enjoy the cinematography in its most bleak and spartan Northernness.

    "It's grim up north" might have been the poster slogan for this movie because, set as it is near the North East of England's colliery land, albeit on the moors (North Yorkshire I'd suggest), it is most certainly grim.

    The story is murderously grim too and I'd expect this BBC Films production to be in the running when next year's BAFTA's are handed out with Florence Pugh a shoe in for best female actor.

    Slow but sublime with excellent direction from William Oldroyd.
    JohnDeSando

    Masterful photography of a Shakespeare-like lusty drama.

    Looking at the title, you might think director William Oldroyd's Lady Macbeth is about revenge, lust, murder, and boredom, and you would be right on all counts. Katherine (Florence Pugh), a 19th century teen bride of an arranged marriage to a middle-aged drunk, can't get no satisfaction. Her husband is impotent for starters, and the estate is so forbidding murder would seem to be a required pastime.

    Yet, sex is the prime mover here, where she discovers randy groomsman Sebastian (Cosmo Jarvis), and takes him to bed in the long absence of her hubby. Meek black Anna (Naomi Ackie), Katherine's servant, observes the shenanigans, much as we do, unable to change what she sees will be an outcome unpleasant to the core. To the end Anna is faithful to Katherine, a slave to a mistress who is herself a slave to men and convention.

    Several archetypal themes arise in this somber, artfully-photographed drama. For instance, one that emphasizes the wages of sin is prominent; another about the subjugated rising against the oppressor; and another about the danger of socially imprisoning smart women in a paternalistic society. A leitmotif also surfaces about the dangers of debilitating class distinctions, which are never a good thing in the long haul.

    Ari Wegner's cinematography is portrait-like if considering only the recurring shot of Katherine sitting on her Victorian couch in a consuming dress that seems to deteriorate with each similar shot. Underneath the dress is the corset, so long a symbol of the era's tight hold on women.

    Remembering Amma Asante's Belle, I'm pleased to see another art- film treatment of fraught race relations in merry ol' England. That none of this will ever stop is promised in the spawn of the miscreants, children of evil destined to repeat their parents' sins.

    Lady Macbeth is an interesting minimalist story of a smothered young woman, whose intensity will lay waste to the social fabric of the estate. In fact, much of the proceedings are Shakespearean with their emphasis on man's weakness in his dominance, a woman's Eve-like ability to lure men into sin, and the pride that inevitably leads to a fall.

    Depressing but dramatically satisfying.
    8Xstal

    You Make Y'Bed...

    You've been sold off into a marriage, not made in heaven, to a man who sees you only as possession, life has ended now for you, you should do, what you're told to, that's sit all day, a little pray, absorb oppression. But desires are on fire and you need passion, there are shackles that you need to have unfastened, and Sebastian's the key, can unlock all misery, by removing all unsatisfied frustration. It's not just clothes that are discarded and come off, soon the wheels of the carriage are all troughed, discretion lets you down, but you're tough, and don't bow down, although your actions may make one or two souls scoff.

    Brilliant, Florence Pugh is absolutely fantastic!!!
    8rubenm

    Lust and loneliness

    If I were the producer of this film, I'd have chosen a different title. I'm sure lots of moviegoers are going to be misled: this film has nothing to do with Shakespeare. It's an adaptation of a novel by the Russian author Nikolai Leskov, set in early 19th century England.

    The film seems to be a pre-feminism manifesto for women's rights. It shows Katherine Lester, the submissive wife of a wealthy but abusive landowner, living in a secluded manor in the British countryside. During a prolonged absence of her husband, she rediscovers her freedom and starts an affair with one of the stable boys. Not willing to give up her newly acquired status, she starts a series of increasingly extreme actions.

    The interesting thing is how Katherine evolves from victim to culprit. She seems to have learned from her husband how to use and misuse power. The lack of social conscience of which she at first is a victim, becomes a driving force for her own behaviour. Her selfishness and lack of morality is so extreme that, in the end, she betrays innocent servants. The viewer has to shift his allegiances: at first, it's impossible not to sympathize with Katherine, enjoying a free life without her heartless husband. But halfway through the film, it becomes clear that Katherine is just as heartless, as soon as she is in power.

    The story is filmed in a very effective, sober style with beautiful cinematography. The lack of any music is remarkable: some elongated scenes are striking because of the silence. The oppressive atmosphere in the manor is emphasized by the camera work. The camera repeatedly shows scenes from exactly the same viewpoint. Four or five times, we see the servant Anna entering Katherine's bedroom in exactly the same way.

    As much as 'Lady Macbeth' is about gender, it is also about class. It is striking that Katherine, who as a woman is considered a lower form of human life by men, herself considers the servants to be a lower form of human life. She shamelessly uses them for her own purposes and enjoyment, but doesn't care at all about their fate afterwards.

    'Lady Macbeth' is a beautiful film, about issues that even nowadays are worth thinking about. But I would have named it 'Lust and loneliness' - after all, it's set in the same period as the Jane Austen novels.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Florence Pugh said she loved her nude scenes in this film. Pugh reflected on her breakout role during an interview for Britain's ES Magazine and admitted the part "changed everything" for her. "I loved the fact she was naked all the time. At that point in my life, I had been made to feel shit about what I looked like and that film was perfect. There was no room for me to feel insecure."
    • Goofs
      A Cornish Rex cat first appears at 14:30. The breed first appeared around 1950.
    • Quotes

      Katherine: I'd rather stop you breathing than have you doubt how I feel.

    • Connections
      Featured in The EE British Academy Film Awards (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
      (uncredited)

      German folk tune

      Lyrics by Joachim Neander, translated by Catherine Winkworth

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    FAQ18

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • July 14, 2017 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Ireland
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Sixty-Six Picture (United States)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Леді Макбет
    • Filming locations
      • Lambton Castle, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, England, UK(The Lesters' home)
    • Production companies
      • Sixty-Six Pictures
      • BBC Film
      • British Film Institute (BFI)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • £500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,129,408
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $64,537
      • Jul 16, 2017
    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,343,632
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 29 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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