A Reel Review: THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

Over the last 25 years or so, the filmmaking team of Joel and Ethan Coen have created some of the best and most beloved films; from the crime-comedies FARGO (1996), and THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998), to serious award-winning drams like NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007), and INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (2013). For 2021, the brothers have taken a break from being joined at the hip, and Joel has taken a crack at Shakespeare with THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH. 

 

Macbeth (Denzel Washington), encounters three witches (Kathryn Hunter), who prophesize about this future. Although he is content with letting things play out naturally, he is encouraged by Lady Macbeth (Frances McDormand), to murder the king (Brendan Gleeson), and take the throne. 

 

Written and directed by Joel Coen and based on the famed play by William Shakespeare, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH is a stripped-down version of the tale, relying on the actors and powerful visuals. Coen, using his decades-long experience and knowledge of cinema, is heavily influenced by the German expressionist films of the early 1920’s, using simple sets with powerful lighting and shadow techniques. The film is a stunner to look at from the first frame to the last. 

 

With the backgrounds and surroundings so simple, this moves our attention to the characters and dialogue. The film feels like a stage-play in all the right ways. There is an intimacy to it that makes us feel like we are right there in the bedrooms when murders and plotting take place, and it is there where this MACBETH really shines. As Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plot and scheme and slowly descend into madness, it has a hook that grabs deep. 

 

Coen gets powerful performances out of his cast. Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are fire on the screen, and as actors who are cast older than what most Macbeth adaptations have done, there is a weight to their characters. Corey Hawkins comes in as Macduff, who confronts Macbeth in the finale in a thriller, and matches Denzel’s intensity blow-by-blow. The show is stolen by Kathryn Hunter, who as the embodiment of the witches (and another secret role), puts on a breathtaking performance. The rest of the cast are also excellent; Brendan Gleeson, Alex Hassell, Stephen Root, and Harry Melling. 

 

As one of the simpler Shakespeare plays, Macbeth is more accessible than others, and is often one of the first taught in high schools. Outside of Romeo and Juliet, it is probably the most familiar. Joel Coen has taken that old familiar tale and given it a new skin; a skin that uses hundred-year-old filming techniques to finish off as one of the most stunning adaptions of Shakespeare. If we can look into the seeds of time, it is fair to say that the solo career of Joel Coen will be one that will grow. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it