Macbeth (2005) (Shakespeare Retold)

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is transposed to the enclosed and passionate world of a top restaurant kitchen. Joe Macbeth is Head Chef in an award-winning restaurant owned by ‘Executive Chef’ Duncan. Whilst Duncan swans around from TV interview to celebrity party garnering praise and recognition for his amazing cooking, Joe is the one hard at work producing culinary masterpieces for the tables. Joe is driven and passionate about food and his kitchen, and successfully leads an army of keen young chefs. One night, three witch-like binmen meet Joe and his sous-chef Billy and tell them that the restaurant will win three Michelin stars and that Joe will own the whole place one day. They tell Billy that his sons are also in line to inherit. Weirdly, their predictions start to come true as soon as the boys arrive back in the restaurant: Duncan drops by to tell them that they have been awarded the coveted three stars. He also tells Joe that his teenage son Malcolm will take over the restaurant when he’s old enough, but in the meantime, if anything should happen to him the whole lot will go to Joe as his valued second in command. Joe tells his wife Ella about his weird night. Ella is ambitious but troubled, and urges Joe to continue his rapid rise through the ranks. If they kill Duncan, the restaurant kingdom which they’ve worked so hard for, will be all theirs… Spurred on by Ella, Joe begins to discover the seductive but destructive possibilities of power, and soon enough, greed and ambition take over with tragic results.