Film Analysis Act 1 Scene 7

Act 1 Scene 7

30:30 – She is shown as caring towards M, bandaging his hands and looking after him.

30:46 – “You’ve done this. You’re a knifeman Joe, you know how it feels.”

M protests, but LM replies with “It’s all set up. You do this, and we win EVERYTHING.” There is no emphasis on fate. She very much sees this now as ‘winning’.

31:00 – Talks about her baby. I know how it feels to have a baby feed at my breast’ ‘There was a smile wasn’t there?’ Makes us feel sorry for her. They are portrayed as a struggling young family.

Macbeth seems ‘persuaded’ by her crying over the baby. After this, the scene cuts.

33:00 – ‘IN another life I’d make a pass at you’ ‘In another life I’ll let you’. Implies that she uses sex to influence Duncan. Also, it could be implied that there is more to their relationship than friendship. Not something we see in the original.

‘Bewitching woman.’ Duncan. ‘Bewitching’ is when someone has the ability to influence you in an almost supernatural way. It is an interesting comparison. In the original text, LM is ‘in league’ with evil spirits. In this version, she ‘bewitches him’ him sex/flirting.

Because of Duncan’s attempts to flirt with LM, the audience sees him more as ‘deserving’ of his death. Perhaps this makes us more sympathetic towards LM/M?

35:00 LM summons M to the murder by ringing him on his phone. This replaces the ‘bell’ which we see in the original text. Giving LM more control over the situation.

36:15 LM goes to great lengths to ‘set up’ the foreign dish washers so that it will look like they have killed Duncan. This shows huge plotting on the part of LM. She had to have all of this in place well in advance.

38:00 M’s famous soliloquy where he considers whether or not he should be doing what he is doing does not feature in this film. This means that LM is shown as being far less outwardly persuasive towards M.

In the original script, we do not see/witness the murder so this whole scene gives us a different perspective on the characters involved

39:00-41:00 – Crucially, M decides he can not go back in to Duncan’s room to finish the job. LM actually goes in and takes part in the crime, meaning that she is portrayed as being far more involved/to blame than in the original script.

41:40 – M says that the police will know that the second knife ‘didn’t go into’ Duncan. At which point LM gives him a knowing look and says ‘Remember, we’re in this together.’ She is portrayed as being more evil, plotting and calculating here than the original LM. She has actually gone into Duncan’s room and stabbed the corpse to make it look more convincing.

42:00 She is shown to be totally psychopathic when she says ‘It was easier for me’ and smiles/kisses M.