'Lady Macbeth': An Oppressed 19th Century Wife Plots Revenge in First Trailer for Sundance 'Spotlight' Pick
Lady Macbeth was greeted with strong reviews when it had its world premiere at this past September’s Toronto International Film Festival, earning accolades such as Indiewire stating that “the feature-length debut of British theater director William Oldroyd suggests what might happen if Alfred Hitchcock directed Wuthering Heights.” With its title’s Shakespearean reference making plain what kind of story audiences can expect, this adaptation of Russian author Nikolai Leskov’s 1865 novel is one of the most buzzed-about indie releases of 2017. And now, Yahoo Movies presents the exclusive debut of the film’s first trailer (watch it above).
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Oldroyd’s film concerns a young 19th century English woman (Florence Pugh) trapped in a loveless marriage to a much older husband. Before long, an affair with one of her spouse’s employees ignites a passion inside her — and as one might expect from a tale whose title directly alludes to Shakespeare’s infamous character, she’s soon driven to plot a murder. It’s a chilling tale of a powerless woman striking back at her misogynistic subjugation, and it seems primed to serve as the breakout vehicle for Pugh, who to this point has only one prior big-screen credit.
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Lady Macbeth will be featured in the “Spotlight” section of this coming January’s Sundance Film Festival, ahead of its release in New York and Los Angeles theaters on June 2, 2017, and subsequent expansion to other locations throughout the summer.
