The Tragedy of Macbeth

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source: The Tragedy of Macbeth

Macbeth is about toxic ambition. A man becomes willing to commit multiple, unjust murders to slake his lust for the crown. He meets an unsurprising fate. His wife eggs him on. I think anyone watching this knows this plot and so you watch a new adaptation to see something new. What's new is the set design. It's all German expressionism, black and white, emphasis on extreme contrasts between light and dark, minimalist sets. Actors are filmed from a distance, few close-ups. As if Shakespeare's archaic and wordy dialog didn't push the viewer away enough, the remote directorial style pushes the viewer even farther away. Denzel and Frances don't seem married. No chemistry. Denzel is a plump, grandfatherly figure and he doesn't convey bloodthirsty ambition. I was offended by the witch. She's played by an old, ugly, contortionist and we are invited to ogle at her grotesque body and movements, as if she were a circus geek. I saw no real value in such an undignified display. Too close to mocking a handicapped or otherwise defective human body. I loved the visuals but was bored by the film otherwise. I didn't care about any characters. I felt duty-bound to watch to the end but if I had just stumbled across this adaptation on YouTube I would have stuck around only for fifteen minutes or so.

The story of Macbeth is a classic one, told time and time and time again. You've probably seen the 1971 Roman Polanski adaption; you may have even seen the 2016 version starring the one and only Michael Fassbender - in short, you know the tale, and you know the tragedy of one Macbeth. So on a very surface level, you know that with Joel Coen's "The Tragedy of Macbeth," you're not necessarily getting anything new. Shot entirely on sound stages, the movie looks visually interesting; filmed in black and white, Coen adds some flair that at least makes the film engaging to look at. This stylistic decision also lends itself to some slightly creative action sequences, which are also elevated due to Denzel Washington's unhinged performance - notably, a sword fight toward the end of the film that took place in a throne room looked especially fantastic. The actors, too, all do a serviceable job. Denzel is always entertaining, and adds some tenacity to the lead role; Kathryn Hunter as the three witches is probably the best performer here, absolutely stealing the show every time she is on screen. Frances McDormand is fine with what she gets to do, which admittedly isn't all that much. Visuals aside, "The Tragedy of Macbeth" isn't that interesting. You have to probably be a die-hard Shakespeare fan to enjoy this, because everyone is speaking lines from the original play, lines that can be hard to decipher, especially in today's day and age; all I have to say is, thank God the theatre I went to had subtitles. The dialogue is stilted, and with the brisk running time, the movie moves fast - perhaps too fast to let anything simmer. It feels like Coen was sprinting to the finish line as soon as the movie started, which doesn't bode well for audience engagement. The movie feels very rushed, and as a result, very emotionally distant. You won't find yourself caring about what's happening or who it's happening to because the film itself isn't interested in spending time to create any emotional resonance toward its plot or characters. While the story is timeless, this adaption is, frankly, pretty boring. There's nothing really new here besides the visuals, and what is here has been done better before. I did enjoy the diverse cast, and Denzel's leading performance - other than that, I can confidently say that I will never watch this movie again.

Exceptional cinematography, the film has a truly astounding look!! The choice for minimal sets makes the film have a feeling of being in a theatre, the script, direction and acting are 10/10. Probably one of the best uses of shadows in any film!! My only tiny issue was that the mix old English and very fast talking made me miss some dialogue, subtitles would greatly benefit the film.