Michael Ledo Katherine (Florence Pugh) is sold as a wife into the Lester manor. Her husband (Paul Hilton ) is delinquent in his husband duties preferring self gratification. She is told not to go outside. When the master leaves on a trip, we fall into an English version of Mandingo. Katherine is very bold and daring about her relationship and has no problem achieving what she desires. This is a fairly decent period drama. Fans of this film might enjoy the classic book Madame Bovary. Good use of silence. Guide: Nudity. Sex. 1 F-word. 1 C word.

lasttimeisaw Debut film from UK director William Oldroyd, LADY MACBETH is a perfervid reinterpretation of Nikolai Leskov's literature warhorse, which is transposed to a rural England in the 19th century. The young woman in question is Katherine (Pugh), on her wedding night, her mixed conjugal feeling of excitation, trepidation and expectation starkly plunges into blank disappointment by the standoffish maneuver from her much older husband Alexander (Hilton). Whereupon subjugated to a loveless marriage and the surface duty as a decorous showpiece by her martinet father-in-law Boris (Fairbank), who has bought her to marry his son, the headstrong, unsatisfied Katherine will turn seriously homicidal in securing her sexual fulfillment with a low-class groom Sebastian (singer-songwriter Cosmos Jarvis). While navigating the narrative's lean, frugally presented structure, Oldroyd vigorously charts the triple "father, husband, son" elimination procedures as the consecutive obstructions at loggerheads with Katherine and Sebastian's not-too-secretive assignations with unsparing directness and compulsive momentum, especially when "the son" chapter transpires, it wonderfully sheds light on both the raison d'être of this doomed arranged marriage in the first place (an imperative to paper over a scandalous miscegenation) and Alexander's wayward refusal to consummate it, everything makes sense at that stage, but Katherine has way passed the point of no return, and when her relationship with Sebastian festers under the duress of guilt, disgust and obviously, too much blood on their hands, Oldroyd goes off the beaten track to incarnate a revolutionary aftermath that empowers the birth of a nefarious woman, for which a society entrenched with feudal formalities and patriarchal superiority is answerable in every respect. Conceiving a neat and orderly strategy in arranging its puritanical but cunning period setting and sepulchral landscape (configured with a slender pick of incidental music), LADY MACBETH offers an immensely gratifying viewing experience, and preponderantly flourishes on the strength of its magnificent leading lady, the 19-year-old newcomer Florence Pugh, whose transubstantiation from a boredom-riddled virgin to a pertinacious temptress is utterly vivifying, and revels in her dexterous juggling with precocious impertinence, voracious desire and callous determination, all leading to that final flinty about-face which substantiates that she is here to stay, woe betide anyone standing in her way! Lastly, acting debutante Naomi Ackie also giving a heads-turning performance, as the obedient, tremulous housemaid Anna, who is the closest witness of Katherine's (wrong)doings, and ostensibly wielding the moral compass for viewers when she is seemingly stuck by a selective muteness, but in Oldroyd's acute refutation of self-imposed victimology, her abject, animalistic status (referred both by her superior and peer in difference occasions) is not a merit of sympathy, if she is unable to speak out the truth, she might just as well becomes a befitting scapegoat of this amoral, but incredibly cogent post-modern parable, the harbinger of a new name worth being reckoned with in the future.

The Movie Diorama Well, I wasn't expecting that! A period drama I was told, a classy thriller I got. I can see why this deserves all the acclaim it received, it's absolutely stunning. A young lady lives a lifeless marriage, lacking a sexual spark. She embarks on a passionate affair with one of her husband's workers to which unleashes an unstoppable force for lust and power. I say unstoppable, I use that word lightly. My word, this woman is one manipulative puppeteer. Her ability to create deceit with ease, her authoritative power to control her workers allows her to get away with murder (quite literally...) and then her passionate affair paints a powerful portrait of a woman who gets what she wants. An utterly fierce narrative seizing female independence in a world dominated by men. What makes this film particularly more special, are Florence Pugh and William Oldroyd. The latter makes his directorial debut feature, exceptional might I add. Incredibly stunning segments showcasing the gorgeous landscapes of rural England and several static camera shots to allow some highly skilled one take scenes, particularly one moment involving a child on the sofa (extremely captivating and shocking...). Pugh commanded every scene, in fact the whole film was played through her fingertips. A tour-de-force performance, no doubt. Costumes and production were accurate and beautiful to look at, really captured the period age. The story itself takes a good third of the film to get going, but once one twist is revealed it just keeps spiralling out of control. By the end, I was hooked. My eyes were glued to the screen as we watch the lady of the house sit in silence. The silence really was piercing, very effective method I must say. Period settings may not for everyone, but I highly recommend you give this slow thriller a watch. Mesmerising and sensational.

Oscar Lopez Excellent photography, cinematography, and direction. Unexpected story, very well told. Great performance.