Thursday, December 23, 2021
The Tragedy of Macbeth
For over four hundred years, William Shakespeare's play The Tragedie of Macbeth has been performed on stage and adapted into other formats, including motion pictures numerous times. Yet, the Academy Award-winning director Joel Coen offers another exquisite take with his grand "The Tragedy of Macbeth" (USA 2021 | 105 min.). Besides the powerful performance, the film's stunning visual and lavish production design are magnificent on the big screen. This is the first time Joel Coen has directed a film solo without his brother Ethan Coen as a co-director after they made eighteen movies together.
At the beginning of the film, King Duncan's (Brendan Gleeson) kinsman Macbeth (Denzel Washington) and his friend, general Banquo (Bertie Carvel) emerge from the fog when returning from a battle with a victory. They are confronted by three startling witches (Kathryn Hunter). The witches predict Macbeth would be the king, but Banquo would be the father of a future king.
After King Duncan commends their victory, he names his son Malcolm (Harry Melling) as his heir. That declaration enrages ambitious Macbeth who has been eying the throne. Macbeth sends a letter to Lady Macbeth (Frances McDormand) back in the castle to inform her about the upcoming visit of King Duncan.
Still childless after passing her child bearing age, Lady Macbeth believes the only way for Macbeth to take the throne is to murder King Duncan. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth waste no time killing Duncan in his sleep, and Macbeth becomes the King of Scotland while Duncan's loyalists flee, including the Thane of Fife—Macduff (Corey Hawkins).
But that kingship does not bring Macbeth the satisfaction he seeks. Instead, he is paranoid about his political rivals and haunted by their ghosts. He is driven into madness and starts a bloodshed to eliminate his allies. Not only does he kill Banquo, but he also orders the killing of Lady Macduff (Moses Ingram), as well as their young son and servants among others.
In revenge, Macduff gathers forces and comes back to Scotland to fight Macbeth. After a fierce battle, Macduff beheads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth commits suicide. The bloodbath finally comes to an end.
The writer-director Joel Coen is rather faithful to the well-known play in his adaptation. However, he made an artistic choice for the film's format to be an almost perfect square aspect ratio (1:19) and in gorgeous black and white. It immediately draws you into an atmosphere that is both mysterious and mesmerizing, and offers a fresh look at the four-hundred-year old yet timeless tale that can never escape our imagination.
The setting of each scene is remarkably simple as if you are walking into a stunningly designed modern home waiting for its residents to move in, and the characters are strategically positioned in each frame to become the focal point. Even though the film has a stage production feel, the director Joel Coen meticulously designs the length and angle of each shot to make viewing the film an arresting cinematic experience.
Watching the film is similar to going to an opera, not only because of the film's grandness, but also the fact that you probably won't get every word spoken by the characters—they certainly don't use the vocabularies you text on your phone nowadays. Unlike other movies, this film's plot has been out for four hundred years, so there is hardly any spoiler left to avoid in its synopsis. Therefore, just like going to an opera, it's helpful to read the synopsis beforehand in case this famous Shakespearean tragedy has faded in your memory.
"The Tragedy of Macbeth" opens on Saturday, December 25, 2021.