Macbeth is consumed by ambition and racked with guilt over the horrific actions he's going to do to climb to the top. The play has two clashing cinematic ideologies.
The first one is a rigid translation of Shakespeare's most famous play. The prose is delivered in thick Scottish accents of ranging dialect against a harsh highland landscape with thick and unforgiving rock faces. Everything from the clothing to the hairstyles is authentic of 11th century Scotland.
The second one is an adaptation that hasn't been afraid to take risks. In its runtime, there are several dialogue-free sequences that expand upon the events of the story. Several key moments have been altered to the point with an alternate meaning: the couple has become so enraptured while plotting Duncan's death they start having sex; then the new King becomes insane the moment the crown is placed, rather than overwhelmingly remorseful.
As Michael Fassbender has said, his Macbeth character is haunted by the effects of his intense opening battle, as much as his lust for political ambition over killing his king.
According to What Culture, Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard have never played the Macbeths on stage. The performances of the two are incredibly restrained, which is further befitting this down-and-gritty cinema rather than high theatrics. The standout moment of Cotillard's performance, is the no-frills reworking of the famed sleepwalking scene and static close-up long take of Lady Macbeth's mental breakdown. Likewise, Fassbender delivers many drama lines with a subtle eye towards how they would fit into the real world, presenting them as the vocalized musings of a madman.
Telegraph said the film also talks about the three witches who foretold that Macbeth is going to become a King.
When Macbeth confesses to his wife the murder of King Duncan, she sees him elevated to the throne of Scotland, but his mind is full of scorpions. The actor's agonized delivery and pleading eyes makes you feel the creature's thorny legs spattering up his brain.
