Play-scripts were manuscript and used as manuals to en-scene plays which were visually presented by actors for the purpose of entertaining and communicating implied meaning to an audience. Shakespeare’s play Macbeth was written during King Henry V’s reign over England, a historical context which emphasizes meaning to the basis of the play. Having read Shakespeare’s Macbeth and watched film director Justin Kurzel’s re-interpretation of the play starring Michael Fassbender we can identify dissimilarities and noticeable distinctions between the script and the movie. Through my analysis, I determined the main difference between the play-script and the movie to be the role of grief in influencing the actions of the main characters. This opens a …show more content…
Throughout the film, we get a glimpse of morality coming from the characters. Kurzel’s idea of placing the concept of child loss at the heart of the action, especially for Lady Macbeth, and the need for closure without leaving the weapons on the battlefield, for Macbeth himself. The feeling of loss manifests itself into violence and death which paint the very picture of an authentic Shakespearean play. The film is shot considering a wide range of perspectives which include secondary and trivial characters. This aspect influenced the plot in bringing out humanity and affinity in the scenes; scenes that are only described in speeches in the stage play including the initial battle scene and, later, the gruesome deaths of Macduff’s wife and children are shown in the film. The movie’s script is written closely resembling the Shakespearean language, with the actors speaking with a Scottish accent, showing that the director has embraced the original vocabulary of the play. Symbolic characters such as the three witches as described by Shakespeare appear much more human and mortal in the film, Macbeth views them as sisters and not witches. They appear in three, therefore, only two of them speak, and the other is seen distant, with a young child in hand. The director’s decision to add another significantly young trivial character maintains the idea of an innocent taken away from the main