“The Tragedy of MacBeth” Review
Denzel Washington (Left) and Frances McDormand brilliantly portray MacBeth and Lady Macbeth respectively in Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of MacBeth.”
When Joel Coen, one of the greatest modern directors alongside his brother Ethan, announced that his first film as a solo director would be an adaptation of “MacBeth,” I grew excited. I am a huge lover of Shakespeare’s work and “MacBeth” is my favorite play of his. I love the tragedy, the emotional turmoil and the almost gothic imagery that results from this play, which many consider to be Shakespeare’s darkest. It’s a play that is so macabre that it’s considered bad luck to say the title out loud in a theater. Now available on AppleTV+, “The Tragedy of MacBeth” is a masterful telling of this tale.
Set in Scotland, MacBeth (Denzel Washington) is a war hero and lord who has nobly served King Duncan (Brenden Gleeson) in battle. When he and his friend Banquo (Bertie Carvel) encounter three witches (Kathryn Hunter), they tell MacBeth that he is destined to become king and Banquo’s children will become kings. Growing ambitious, MacBeth and his wife (Frances McDormand) conspire to murder King Duncan which plunges the country into civil war and sees MacBeth become a tyrant.
Maybe because I’m such a huge fan of the play, I've never seen a definitive version of this play on the big screen. In my opinion, Franco Zefferelli made the definitive “Romeo and Juliet” in 1967 and Kenneth Brannagh made the best “Hamlet” in 1994. I’ve just never seen an adaptation of “MacBeth” that made me think nothing could top it, although filmmakers like Orson Welles and Roman Polanski have come close. In fact, the best version of “MacBeth” I’ve ever seen is Akira Kurosawa’s “Throne of Blood” which only took the basic plot and turned the setting into feudal Japan.
I think that Joel Coen’s direction for this film makes for a compelling tale. The black-and-white photography by Bruno Delbonnel is startling and really brings out the internal battle of the characters. This is both a grand looking film while having the appropriate amount of intimacy for the character’s monologues.
The beautiful black-and-white photography of Bruno Delbonnel makes “The Tragedy of MacBeth” one of the most visually interesting Shakespeare films.
Denzel Washington is fantastic as MacBeth. I’ve heard some people surprised that he’s a Shakespearian actor but he’s been occasionally taking part in Shakespeare productions for years, including a film adaptation of “Much Ado About Nothing.” After seeing his amazing performance as MacBeth, I want him to do nothing but Shakespeare from here on out. He does everything you want a great Shakespeare actor to do and he gives actors like Toshiro Mifune and Orson Welles, who previously played MacBeth-type characters, a run for their money.
But behind every tyrannical man, there’s a complex, plotting woman and Lady MacBeth is one of the most fascinating characters in fiction. Her desire for her and her husband to rise up through nobility is identifiable but the lengths she goes to is shocking. To play this character requires immense acting talent so casting Frances McDormand is probably the best thing you could do. Her performance is perfect and she shows the same tenacity she displayed in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
As someone who has done some acting and has read a lot of Shakespeare, the language of 400 years ago is difficult to say without practice. I say this because every single actor in this film makes this dialogue beautiful to listen to. Even when they’re talking about murder, it’s wonderful. Some of the changes made to the story I found to be minimal but effective such as having the witches all played by the same actor.
Overall, “The Tragedy of MacBeth” is probably one of the best Shakespeare adaptations I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure if it is the definitive adaptation of “MacBeth” but I think that only time can let me know that. But, in terms of quality, this take of The Bard is masterful.
