Macbeth Details

Wrongly described as the first version of “the Scottish play” with indigenous accents, this doggedly low-budget affair lacks the power or cinematic imagination of earlier efforts by Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa and Roman Polanski. As Macbeth, a role long coveted by his father, Jason Connery is suitably hesitant in his ambition, but there's a suspicion this owes more to his discomfort with the difficult dialogue than character insight. Helen Baxendale is similarly troubled as his scheming wife, so it's left to supporting players like Graham McTavish to steady the ship. Director Jeremy Freeston has some splendid locations to work with; a pity, then, he shoots much of the dialogue in suffocating close-up.