What makes this exploration especially refreshing is the film’s refusal to give it a depressing edge.
Francesca McBride’s debut short, Lady Macbeth Was Never a Girl, is a delightful exploration of identity, friendship and gender. Co-produced by Left Eddy Stories and Hidden Voice Productions, the film establishes strong storytelling into its eight-minute runtime, whilst still leaving enough unanswered to leave the audience wanting more. It is rare for a short to maintain this balance without slipping into the temptation to overpack the plot, and by avoiding this trap, the key emotions behind the story are able to linger even days after the credits roll.
Set in the 1990s in a secondary school in Scotland, Lady Macbeth Was Never A Girl immediately transports the viewer into the nostalgia of school life. The opening shots bring us into an autumnal afternoon, capturing that back-to-school feeling and the sense that the school year is starting again. Scenes of English class, with the dreaded final-year essay question written up on the board, bring back the familiar frustrations of endless writing and the aching wrist that comes with it.
At the heart of the film, Jessica, played by Francesca McBride, begins to explore gender and identity within the rigid world of school, whilst snapshots of a supportive friendship with Ashley, played by Eva Smith, unfold alongside this. There is something refreshing about witnessing teenagers exist within a natural friendship, without their relationship needing to become overly complex. Their friendship feels genuine, capturing those early stages of questioning identity without forcing answers into Jessica’s experience.
Symbolism, particularly around clothing, is at the core of the film. Within the restrictive school environment, learning how to present yourself and feel comfortable in your own skin can be difficult discoveries to make, with an expectation to wear a uniform and fit in before you have even worked out who you are. Clothing becomes the central way of exploration, reflecting the uncertainty around how we present ourselves and how much of that presentation comes from our own choices. This feels particularly fitting within a story about questioning gender, as clothing is often one of the earliest ways that identity is explored and understood.
What makes this exploration especially refreshing is the film’s refusal to give it a depressing edge. Gender is often explored on screen through conflict and isolation, but Lady Macbeth Was Never a Girl approaches these questions with a curiousness and a sense of possibility. There is an openness to the way Jessica’s experiences are presented, allowing it to feel like a natural part of growing up and discovering yourself, rather than something that must inevitably lead to tragedy.
The writing is suitably restrained. It’s clear that there’s more that could be explored here, but the film does not attempt to squeeze everything into its eight-minute running time. Instead, it paces itself well, allowing its imagery, symbolism and small moments between the characters to do much of the work.
As McBride’s debut, Lady Macbeth Was Never a Girl is an encouraging first film. There is a real feeling of wanting to spend more time with these characters and see where the story goes next, which is particularly fitting given that the film is planned as the first part of a trilogy. It leaves the audience wanting more without leaving the film feeling incomplete which is perhaps it’s strongest achievement
