The Tragedy Of MacBeth: A Sumptuous Adaptation Of A Classic
A Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power.
MacBeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays. It’s a classic tale of power, prophecy, madness, and revenge that’s managed to stand the test of time. It’s also garnered a slew of adaptations — a handful of which were conducted by legendary directors like Orson Welles and Akira Kurosawa — so you may be asking yourself, what’s there to get excited about? What makes Coen’s interpretation worth seeking out?
There are many reasons, bur for starters, it’s absolutely beautiful. Hands down, it’s the most visually striking film of the year (we’ll definitely be rooting for Bruno Delbonnel come Oscar time). The crisp high-contrast black & white cinematography is rich in texture and gives everything a lovely pop. Nearly every frame is a gallery-worthy painting that will have you arrested. The look, atmospherics, and particularly Coen’s use of staging gives off notes of Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Carl Theodor Dreyer, which gives the theatrical elements a stunning jolt of pure cinema.
Coen’s restrained style is the perfect blend of cinema and theater. He knows when to get in tight to create intimacy (King Duncan’s murder is a prime example) and when to linger from a far, letting scenes breathe and creating space for the performers to shine. He sets everything in a moody, fog-torn atmosphere and runs streaks of delicious surrealism for good measure. He also amps up the material’s otherworldly and mystical elements that makes you want to lean in (in a similar way to Robert Egger’s The Lighthouse)
Of course, the Shakespearean verse will make you lean in as well. This is likely to be one of the major deterrents for many, since it’s like trying to unpack a poem in real-time, but it wasn’t a big issue for us. If you’re watching from home (like we did), we recommend turning on the subtitles, which helped us process the dialogue a bit faster. Fortunately, we’re all likely pretty familiar with the broad strokes of MacBeth, so just allow yourself to bath in the beauty of the language and the images, and likely be sucked in before long.
Even if you can’t under the words that come out of their mouth, it’s easy to get pulled in by the performances. The film is exceptionally cast. All of the performers give the Bard’s words vigorous force and savor every opportunity to shine, but Denzel in particular delivers one the strongest performances he’s given in a long time. Kathryn' Hunter’s chilling performance as the The Witches also stands as a performative highlight. Overall, it’s a very inspired adaptation that ranks amongst the very best and features some of the year’s strongest cinematography and performances.
Recommendation: Visually stunning and passionately performed, The Tragedy Of MacBeth is a mesmerizing experience that captures the theatrical qualities of its source material and delivers cinematic thrills. Definitely seek this one out!
Rating: 4.5 blood drops outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!