Lady Macbeth

This brilliantly feminist British indie film plunges a cold, sharp knife into the back of bonnet dramas.

"Lady Macbeth" reveals the essence of its plot in the title, but the dark twists of the thrilling narrative still manage to surprise.

Florence Pugh announces herself as a major talent to watch in William Oldroyd's impressively tough-minded Victorian tragedy.

Lady Macbeth mostly operates within established period conventions, but draws fresh blood from antique material thanks to a sparky cast, subtle nods to contemporary race and gender issues, and a hefty shot of gothic melodrama.

...the whole adds up to rather less than the sum of its parts.

A film of genuine force, it strikes you in the gut with a clenched fist, simultaneously seduced by its beauty while recoiling at the moral abyss.

Insinuating and bold, the film quickly worms its way under the skin, unnerving us to the core with its shocking story, clever camerawork and razor-sharp acting.

Lady Macbeth is a deftly assured cinematic debut from theatre director William Oldroyd: a film of unnerving, accumulating tension, punctuated by moments of violence that leave you reeling.

There are lots of moral issues raised: control vs freedom, freedom vs power, the crossing of moral boundaries and the notion that lust in women is akin to evil. I really liked it.

Sometimes a glorious film appears like a cold dart out of an open sky.

Directed with spare intensity by William Oldroyd, it's a picture as icily controlled as its heroine is wild and unpredictable.

This may be a low-budget affair (reportedly less than 500,000), but it's as richly textured as any more expensive period piece.