Thane of East County [2015]

When shall we three meet again? When the Year of Shakespeare's done, when the tortured opening paragraph's won; Somehow the loosest adaptation of the five, Thane of East County ports the story to present-ish day to a group of performers putting on Macbeth. In a move that leaves you saying "Oh this is what 'we have less-horny Gaspar Noe at home' could possibly mean", the performer playing Macduff hatches a plot with Lady Macbeth - both in play and in character - to dispatch her husband and never have to pay rent again as possibly the most ambitious hobosexual millenial in fiction.

This movie seems laser-targeted at me specifically for this project; I don't think it would provide much entertainment for people not on a Macbeth/Shakespeare kick, although you can gauge for yourself as it is available to watch for free on the youtube and tubi. I think it drags a bit in the fourth and fifth acts, which largely flatten the meta maneuvers into the performance of the play, thus making it "Macbeth with Guns"; a missing link with this is likely the success of Birdman, released the previous year, which has a similar maneuver.

It seems a poor manner to say that and then complain about the parts that aren't the play flattened into the setting, but the original portions seem weak or first-draft-y; Duke too bogan, Lady Macbeth too lightly motivated; I'm giving it a pass as it is an amateur performance kickstarted to a wikipedia entry, AND DESPITE ALL THAT, I had a great time, especially for a picture so freely given. I think maybe a more dynamic score - even through background/diagetic music - than its generic triphop would've been an improvement.

Next week, we're going to watch Twelfth Night, Or What You Will (1996)
Here's the schedule for the rest of the month.

We're splitting up the month! It's my birthday month, so it's comedies; we're watching

• Jun 7: Twelfth Night or What You Will (1996)
• Jun 14: She's the Man (2006)
• Jun 21: Get Over It (2001) + Strange Magic (2015)
• Jun 28: A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018)

Thanks for reading along with My Year of Shakespeare. We've survived The Scottish Month.