Film Review: "The Tragedy of Macbeth" (2021).

From the director of No Country for Old Men and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs comes The Tragedy of Macbeth. This historical thriller film adapted and directed by Joel Coen and based on the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. A Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland. His ambitious wife will do anything to support him in his plans of seizing power.

In March 2019, it was announced that Joel Coen, in a rare solo effort, was set to write and direct a new take on Shakespeare's classic play. By early February 2020, Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Corey Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson, Harry Melling, Moses Ingram, Ralph Ineson and Stephen Root were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late July. Filming took place in Los Angeles, California. In late March, filming had been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and resumed in late July. In April, Coen announced that the film will officially be titled The Tragedy of Macbeth. The film was shot in black-and-white.

The fim stars Washington, McDormand, Hawkins, Gleeson, Melling, Ingram, Ineson and Root. The film presents powerhouse performances, especially from Washington as the troubled Prince and McDormand as the devious Princess. Washington has all the makings of a terrific Macbeth - the intensity, the towering melancholy, the warrior attitude and physique - and he duly delivers, as does McDormand as his partner in medieval crime.

Joel Coen's effort with Macbeth should be honored. The merits are obvious. But his film has great moments which repay a visit. The graphic intensity of Coen's black-and-white film of one of Shakespeare's legendary plays, then, isn't merely for show, but a carefully considered symbolist staging for screen, meant to complement the Bard's immortal poetry. There is force in this rough, hasty rendering; the sheer speed of the pacing gives it a quality of crushing delirium. A familiar story in a more traditional setting, but still manages to bring forth a new, bolder version of Macbeth that Michael Fassbender does a brilliant job delivering. Even if it stumbles somewhat over its historical appreciation of Shakespeare's drama, this Macbeth, at its best, conveys a genuine sense of the corruption and barbarism of our own times. What catches the attention in the film is how it can become extremely theatrical and, at the same time, imposingly cinematic. Performance, setting, look, and sound successfully come together to generate the drama and monumental scale required of Coen to do justice to Shakespeare's work. One cannot fault the outstanding cinematic style of this Macbeth, which succeeds admirably in creating mood. Coen have adapted Shakespeare's text intelligently and agree or disagree with their various elisions and interpretations, it is good to see the boldness of their decisions. Fashioning an aesthetic which is both highly stylised and naturalistic, Coen crafts a rich banquet of a film (intended!). One of the director's most personal creations, it's a courageous experiment with a craggy barbaric splendor all its own.

Simon says The Tragedy of Macbeth receives:

Also, see my review for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.