‘Lady Macbeth’: the underrated movie that gave Florence Pugh her greatest role
In the space of a decade, Florence Pugh has transformed from being a hopeful newcomer into a Hollywood A-lister, starring in many of the most anticipated films of the past few years. Paired with her down-to-earth persona, many have been quick to covet Pugh as one of the finest actors of her generation.
Suppose you don’t recognise Pugh for her role as Yelena Belova in Marvel’s Black Widow alongside Scarlett Johansson. In that case, you might know her from Ari Aster’s popular folk horror Midsommar or Greta Gerwig’s cosy 2019 retelling of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Of course, the actor was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the latter film, although she missed out to Laura Dern in Marriage Story.
Still, Pugh has continued to earn critical success with performances in movies like The Wonder, Oppenheimer, and Dune: Part Two. She seems capable of bagging parts as big as she can dream of – practically every director is willing to work with the acclaimed star these days.
Yet, among all her roles from the past decade, one remains consistently overlooked despite being one of Pugh’s finest performances. In the 2016 film Lady Macbeth, directed by William Oldroyd, Pugh portrayed Katherine Lester, delivering a performance that is both powerful and tragically underrated. The film is inspired by Nikolai Leskov’s 1865 novella Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, which explores themes of feminine liberation and sexual exploration. Much like Lady Chatterley’s Lover, published several decades later, the story centers on a forbidden love, interwoven with themes of class.
Lady Macbeth sets these themes against a dark and seductive backdrop, with Katherine bored by her life in a rural house where she lives with her older husband. Their sex life is practically dead, and it doesn’t take long for Katherine to find herself attracted to one of the men who works on the land, Sebastian, and they soon begin an affair.
Eventually, Katherine’s true colours are revealed. She doesn’t think twice when it comes to living how she wants – she’ll even resort to murder. The movie is charged with eroticism and a haunting atmosphere, and in one sequence, Katherine and Sebastian prove her infidelity by having sex in front of her husband.
Pugh, who was a newcomer at the time – having only starred in The Falling before – excels in the role. She is brooding and enticing, wreaking havoc in her insular world where she is at the centre, stirring a cauldron full of violence and innate animalism. She intoxicates Sebastian, but, as suggested by the name of the film, her ambition and ruthless desires come crashing down at her feet.
It’s hard to forget Pugh’s performance here, and it’s a true shame that more people haven’t seen Lady Macbeth. It’s a disturbing watch that doesn’t hold back from presenting viewers with something raw and grim, and Pugh gives her all in the leading role. It cemented the trajectory of her career as a versatile and powerful actor, and it would be great to see her return to these darker period pieces in the future.
