Fassbender's PTSD Macbeth

Later this year (more on that in a bit) we'll get to see a new Macbeth film starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard as the titular characters. We've discussed the potential over the last few months, but now we're getting to hear from the actors themselves on set.

“He's suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. It makes total sense, when you think about it. Justin set the seed of the idea in my head,” Fassbender said. “This trauma is something we know about. In World War I they called it battle fatigue, and it was probably more horrific in Macbeth's days, when they were killing with their bare hands, and driving a blade through bodies. He's having these hallucinations, and he needs to return to the violence to find some sort of clarity, or peace.”

I suppose? I think that interpretation takes away from play and forces it to take place on the battlefield. I don't think it's limited to that. I think that ambition comes in many forms.

Also of note in the article is that UK audiences won't get the movie until early 2015 and it's unclear when US audiences will see it. That's a bummer, I thought it was coming out this year.


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