LATEST FILMS

The Tragedy of Macbeth

FILM OF THE MONTH - Star Rating: 4/5

Perhaps the real tragedy of this latest filmed version of William Shakespeare’s Scottish play is being stuck on Apple’s own streaming service AppleTV+, amidst its still pretty small range of films (at least compared to Netflix, Amazon, et al) without enjoying a full cinema release. Made by one half of the Coen brothers, the indie directors behind great films like Fargo and No Country for Old Men, Macbeth’s brutal, underhanded quest for power evokes its stage origins while still being spookily atmospheric.

Stars a terrific Denzel Washington as the warrior bewitched by prophecy and trying to reckon with his own desire for power while being manipulated by his wife. Long-time Coen brothers collaborator Frances McDormand electrifies as Lady Macbeth in her chilly, devious belief in the profit of her and her husband’s murders and deceit which then festers and haunts her. Even the slightest doubt about two Americans playing a very Scottish couple melts away from their very first lines.

The film’s shot fully in black and white with huge, sharp shadows in the castle sets that remind a lot of Orson Welles’ own classic 1940s version. Some viewers might prefer the very bloody, gritty, earthly-coloured 2015 version starring Michael Fassbender as Macbeth over this overtly “stage-y”, even “artsy” depiction. Washington’s Macbeth isn’t as raw or openly menacing, and that’s fitting for this more overtly staged version where he delivers Shakespeare’s manifold soliloquies with exquisite emotional complexity. As bright light and dark shadows live side by side in this version, so truth easily succumbs to lies and murder. ✪

CAUSEWAY SWAN SONG BLACK ADAM

Star Rating: 3.5/5 Star Rating: 3/5 Star Rating: 2.5/5

Speaking of great acting now showing on Apple TV+, Jennifer Lawrence once again impresses in Causeway, an understated drama that’s a far cry from the blockbusters she used to star in. Playing Lynsey, a military veteran trying to pick up her life back home in New Orleans after a traumatic injury, she’s lost none of her acting prowess. Be warned, this is sombre stuff, and the relationship she strikes with James (Brian Tyree Henry) is hardly the stuff of romance (by design). Still, it’s well paced at just ninety minutes, featuring earned emotional turns that avoid any cheap twists or neat resolutions with intelligent camerawork that complements the sad realities that both characters face, especially Lynsey. ✪ Also streaming on Apple TV+ is Mahershala Ali single-handedly making a very flawed sci-fi drama watchable. In fact, you’ll frankly wish they had just focused on Ali as someone struggling with if and how to tell his wife and son he’s terminally ill, because he’s so charismatic and soulful in those scenes of normal family life. The whole plot of him secretly cloning himself so the clone can pretend to be him is sloppy, like the film’s not prepared to fully interrogate the premise or how the character makes the leap to something this drastic, even in his terrible situation. Again, Ali’s great, including when he plays double in multiple seamless scenes, but this film only needed one of him. ✪ To say Black Adam is one of the better DC Comics adaptations is no great endorsement, yet even this merely okay film still tops the disastrous attempts to rush a cinematic universe to rival Marvel’s. Black Adam himself, an ancient warrior who might be more “super” than “hero”, has the basis for a compelling main character, even if Dwayne Johnson can’t do much with it besides look vaguely stoic and determined. Naturally, there’s plenty of loud CGI action with costumed heroes and one-liners, though at a completely breathless pace which nearly chokes any resonance this story has because it’s so determined to get to the next scene or the next action beat. At least it’s got Pierce Brosnan, and he gets to play the best-written character! ✪

PREY FOR THE DEVIL

Star Rating: 1.5/5

Content to be completely perfunctory at every turn, Prey for the Devil most inspires fear when it tries writing believable dialogue. A young nun working for a special exorcism society wants to train to exorcise demons herself but first, she’s got her own demons to face. While some horror clichés are hard to avoid, this film fails to embrace the story of an exorcist society taking on the devil and his servants wherever they lurk. As corny as that could be, it’d definitely be more adventurous than another film full of generic scenes of someone being haunted alone before sudden jump “scares” which are fully predictable and frankly just tame. Nor do the characters have the excuse of being demon-possessed; they’re just very thinly written. ✪