
Entertainment
Share
Published 09:26 17 Feb 2024 GMT
Updated 09:26 17 Feb 2024 GMT

On the same day it has added one of 2023's best movies, Netflix has also made an extremely dark and twisty thriller available to stream.
That film is Lady Macbeth, which landed in cinemas in 2016 and saw future Oscar nominee Florence Pugh get her first leading role.
Set in rural England in 1865, Pugh plays Katherine, a woman trapped in a loveless marriage to a much older, wealthy man (Paul Hilton, Slow Horses).
Alone on her husband's family estate, she begins a passionate affair with a local land worker her own age named Sebastian (Cosmo Jarvis, Calm with Horses).
However, this affair and the pair's efforts to cover it up wind up leading to a string of murders.
Written by Alice Birch (Normal People), directed by William Oldroyd (last year's also brilliant Eileen) and co-starring Naomi Ackie (Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody), Lady Macbeth was widely acclaimed by critics for its dark twisty story, its near-constantly tense atmosphere and Pugh's multi-layered, powerful lead turn.
It was also a box office hit, grossing over £4 million pounds on a reported budget of just £500,000.
Boasting an 88% Rotten Tomatoes score, here's some positive write-ups Lady Macbeth received:
Arizona Republic: "Shot with unsparing coldness, Lady Macbeth is a disturbing character study and dark moral meditation. And like the blood on its namesake's hands, it's not easily washed out."
Detroit News: "Pugh is a wrecking crew, communicating pure malevolence with a simple glance, but always keeping her composure. She may be evil, but she's first and foremost a lady."
Independent (UK): "William Oldroyd's riveting debut feature Lady Macbeth plays like a cross between Wuthering Heights and The Postman Always Rings Twice."
NPR: "Scene for increasingly horrifying scene, Lady Macbeth is about the making of a psychopath for whom bullying and betrayal have become learned behaviour."
Rolling Stone: "Newcomer Florence Pugh, in a performance that will soon be legendary, dives deep into this terrifically twisted, erotic thriller and makes it matter."
Washington Post: "Oldroyd never allows us to look away from the horror, focusing, in long, intense shots, on the faces of his characters as they suffer."
Lady Macbeth is streaming on Netflix in Ireland and the UK right now. It is also available to watch in the US on Prime Video.
Related links:
Explore more on these topics:


The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 101
Entertainment

Universal’s £6bn UK Theme Park officially named
Entertainment

The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 100
Entertainment

The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 99
Entertainment
The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 100
Entertainment
The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 99
Entertainment
The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 98
Entertainment
The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 97
Entertainment
Universal’s £6bn UK Theme Park officially named
Taxpayers are set to stump up over £1bn Universal’s £6bn Theme Park which is coming to the UK has officially been named. The attraction is set to be constructed on the site of the former Kempston Hardwick brickworks near Bedford and would create an estimated 28,000 jobs. The park, expected to open in 2031, will […]
Entertainment
1 day ago
All the reviews for Clarkson’s Farm Series 5 as audience favourite returns
It seems people are divided The new season of Clarkson’s Farm focuses on Jeremy Clarkson’s efforts to modernise Diddly Squat Farm, as he deals with major farming challenges, a changing political landscape, and the growing demands of running his new pub. Season 5 of the documentary reality series begins after a health scare forces Jeremy […]
Entertainment
2 days ago
Entertainment
Celebrity Traitors series 2 full line-up confirmed
Entertainment