The Tragedy Of Macbeth Review
9/10
There is a moment in the brilliant Canadian tv series Slings and Arrows where a Hollywood actor Jack Crew performing Hamlet on stage voices uncertainty about how to say the words in his own voice. He thinks that when the audience sees him speak the text, they are not really seeing Jack Crew, they are seeing echoes of every great actor who has ever performed the role. Every adaptation of Shakespeare brings their interpretation to the table. Traditionalists may have a narrower view of what Shakespeare should be. To me, it is not about simply performing the words with a powerful voice. You must infuse those great words with your timbre and mold them around yourself.
That is what makes Shakespeare the most important and influential writer of all time. No other writer’s work is that malleable. He can be reimagined and reworked to suit anybody’s perspective. I am far from being a scholar of the Bard, but I am well versed enough to have views on what adaptations work best for me. Macbeth - pardon me, I mean The Scottish Play - is my favorite of his overall. I was optimistic to see what Joel Coen would bring to the adaptation. Carrying influences from previous versions of the play is unavoidable. What he does with this film is create one of the most cinematic Shakespeare adaptations we have had in years.
The story has been told many times, so I will not spend pages analyzing the details. Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis and a general in King Duncan’s army, and Banquo, another general, have just conquered their enemy in battle. They encounter three witches, played by one actress, Kathryn Hunter. These witches deliver a prophecy that Macbeth will soon be king. He is, of course, stunned by this information. Kathryn Hunter’s performance is incredible. The way she contorts herself during her introduction creates such an eerie and disturbing aura.
What is especially intriguing about the witches is how their words can be seen depending on who is adapting. Some think their words are an actual prophecy, others think they are merely planting the seeds that Macbeth will harvest no matter what. Whichever way you see them, the result is the same. He is destined to conduct these murders and ascend to the crown. Orson Welles has a unique interpretation of the witches. He thinks they are remnants from an old Druidical pagan religion suppressed by Christianity. To him, a major theme of the play is the clash between the old-world religions and the new dominating one.
Denzel Washington plays Macbeth in a way that is quite different from other portrayals I have seen. Many actors would have leaned into the madness of the character and play him as an insane villain. Michael Fassbender in the 2015 film adaptation goes in this direction. Washington is more understated than I was anticipating. His delivery of the text can be a bit muted as if he is speaking it to himself rather than performing for a crowd. It took me a few minutes for me to adjust to this style. There are some parts where I think he could have pushed the delivery of the dialogue more to add more weight to the words, but overall, I think it is a remarkable performance.
He is not a cackling madman on the verge of murder. Denzel Washington is older than other actors who have played the role. So is Frances McDormand. This age jump gives them a distinct motive. They are trying to recapture what is left of their former glory. There is a world-weariness to Washington’s portrayal here that enhances the guilt of Macbeth’s brutal actions. He does not revel in violence; to him, it is the only way to achieve the greatness he has been denied. The famous lines said by other actors before him are not a flourishing performance to a grand theater; they are spoken in shame by a man rattled by the guilt of his actions.
His murder of King Duncan is not done in rage or homicidal urges. He is following the path of fate in a trance. The regret for what he has done sinks in like the knife he pierced the king with. Duncan is played by the great Brendan Gleeson, an actor who has been a favorite of mine for years. What makes Macbeth such an extraordinary play compared to others in Shakespeare’s repertoire is how scaled back it is. His plays tend to be stuffed with side characters dispensing exposition. Macbeth has a fair share of exposition, but the story itself is stripped of excess baggage. It cuts to the bone and has cinematic brutality that makes it perfect for film.
Frances McDormand is a fantastic Lady Macbeth. She has all the fire and venom needed for the character to work. She is the real force manipulating the power behind the scenes. Previous versions of the play have sidelined her to their detriment. Joel Coen describes her as a post-menopausal Lady Macbeth. There was one small change to the dialogue in one scene. Originally, Macbeth says to her, ‘Bring forth men-children only. For thy undaunted mettle should compose. nothing but males.’ These words were changed to ‘should have composed nothing but males.’ As minor of an alteration as that may seem, it highlights the emphasis on mortality and time. Macbeth fights the inevitability of time’s decay much like he confronts his guilt.
The other performances in the film are all impressive, but one I want to mention is Alex Hassell as Ross. His delivery of the words brings the kind of nuance that most actors in a role like that do not achieve. In a way, playing a supporting character in a Shakespeare play puts a bit less pressure on the actor. They are less likely to be compared to countless others who have performed the leading soliloquies. Their roles have been played by many fantastic actors before them, but a general audience will likely not have as much invested knowledge of past performers of these characters.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a visual stunner. It has a stark and minimalist design that frames every shot like a magnificent black and white painting. The film was shot on a Los Angeles soundstage. This gave Coen free reign to create a jagged and hostile kingdom. Some of the shots reminded me of Orson Welles’ 1947 version. The cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel also shot two previous Coen Brothers’ films, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Inside Llewyn Davis.
The film’s score was also standout. I can be very particular about film scores since I grow up in a musical family. Carter Burwell’s score creates an eerie undercurrent of haunting oppression. The notes are melodic, but in a way that creeps up and intensifies the evocation power of the tale.
The Tragedy Of Macbeth is a masterful adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s greatest works. It is not easy to make a film version of a classic, but Joel Coen has made it feel like his own concoction rather than a hodgepodge of previous ingredients.
