Lady Macbeth, film review: Gothic-noir heroine destined to become a cult fa

vourite

Not everything about the project works, but Lady Macbeth is still one of the
most original films of the year, says Charlotte O'Sullivan

Florence Pugh has a chin worthy of a Botticelli infant. Yet her beauty seems
beside the point once you hear her chuckle. She chuckled in The Falling. She
laughs the house down here.

Its 1865 and Northumberland teen Katherine is brought into the home of a
vicious bully to provide his son with an heir. Both men are abusive, but earth
y thick-skinned Katherine exploits the faultline in their relationship and is
tickled by the power she accrues as a result.

Instead of entertaining a dull man of the cloth, she all but kicks him out of th
e house (shes a Less tea, Vicar? sort of gal). She becomes partial to alcoh
ol, extra-marital sex and loose clothing. An alternative title? The Portrait of a
Ladette.

Pugh, often (rightly) compared to Scarlett Johansson, won Breakthrough of t

he Year at the Evening Standard British Film Awards. Other prizes have follo
wed. Her depth and poise are incredible, especially as Katherine embraces
more hardcore transgression.

Florence Pugh discusses her nude scenes in new film Lady Macbeth

The gothic-noir plot, loosely based on an 1865 novel by Nikolai Leskov, is wh

at you might call playful (one murder, involving the breakfast room and an e
dible weapon, is pure Cluedo). But scriptwriter Alice Birch also makes seriou
s points, not least by emphasising the racial diversity of the North-East and
by giving the supporting players their own scratchy, wayward desires.
Katherines black maid (Naomi Ackie, excellent) is fascinatingly unpredictabl
e, while even Katherines ghastly husband has a gorgeous singing voice and
proves loyal to those he loves.

The film is exquisite to look at, which is amazing when you consider the min
uscule budget. First-time director William Oldroyd, not having vast resource
s, comes up with formally simple, striking indoor shots (deprived of moveme
nt, our eyes feast on Katherines peacock blue dress, her marzipan-bright fle
sh and an audacious, alien-eyed moggy).

When outside, Oldroyd changes the pace, with hand-held cameras (hes obvi
ously a fan of Andrea Arnolds Wuthering Heights), and ensures a rare mom
ent of tenderness is bathed in sunshine.

Not everything about the project works. Katherine is too lucky by half. Frank
ly, flouting authority seems a bit of a doddle (servants are cloth-eared, a susp
icious grandmother, for no apparent reason, suddenly drops her guard). That
a key witness becomes mute is also hard to swallow.

But these are quibbles. Lady Macbeth is one of the most original films of the
year, with a heroine almost certain to become a cult favourite. Katherine (fit
to shine the shoes of Under the Skins Female) slays, in every sense of the w
ord