Review: The Tragedy Of Macbeth

Image courtesy of Apple TV.

 

By the pricking of my thumbs, something wickedly entertaining this way comes.

Joel Coen - working for the first time without brother Ethan, who's apparently off writing a play - has adapted William Shakespeare's play, which is only rivaled by "Hamlet" as my favorite among the Bard's work, into a gorgeous black-and-white noir nightmare that gives off the vibe of a long lost Ingmar Bergman film.

Much of the action takes place amid landscapes or atop castles shrouded in mist or in dark corridors where its characters live with the consequences of their murderous deeds. Denzel Washington lends a certain gravitas to the role of the Thane of Cawdor, while Frances McDormand is also, not surprisingly, excellent as Lady Macbeth.

In fact, the performances are all uniformly terrific - especially Kathryn Hunter, who portrays all three of the witches and steals every scene she's in - but it's the atmosphere that is, in some respects, the most intriguing aspect of "The Tragedy of Macbeth." The film's gorgeous visuals are made moodier by the continual presence of the fog and crows that appear ready to fly out of every dark space whenever given the chance.

"Macbeth" is among Shakespeare's darkest plays, and Coen doesn't shy away from the brutality - there are several grim throat slashings and a beheading (albeit brief), and the scene in which Macbeth has Macduff's (Corey Hawkins) family murdered is particularly horrifying.

But as I'd mentioned, it's the presence of the three witches that is the most mesmerizing in the film. First introduced as one woman standing in front of a large puddle, in which the other two are reflected, Hunter's character is later seen bending and twisting into the shape of a pretzel. 

Of course, the most famous of the witches' incantations - "bubble, bubble, toil and trouble" - is, perhaps, the film's most unique stylistic choice. Perched on beams from above in Macbeth's castle, the witches drop the ingredients for their spell into the puddles below that are caused by the endless dripping that takes place throughout the movie, whether it's water or the blood of Macbeth's first victim. The manner in which this fantastic shot is composed made me think of Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" or German expressionistic horror.

When adapting a work, the Coens have typically sought out remakes of only moderately known films ("The Ladykillers") or slightly lesser known novels by great authors (Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men"), so it's a bit of a surprise that Coen would choose the most famous writer of all to adapt, for fear that the classic story might overshadow the Coens' trademark style. On the other hand, adapting "Macbeth" is the most obvious choice for Coen. It's dark, occasionally grimly funny and features some of the most memorable characters in Shakespeare's oeuvre. 

As such, "The Tragedy of Macbeth" is among the best screen adaptations of the Bard's work. It's certainly among the most distinctive, especially considering the number of times this particular play has been made into a movie. Fans of both the Coens' and Shakespeare's work will, no doubt, be highly satisfied by this adaptation.