Film Review: The Tragedy of Macbeth

Images courtesy of A24.

Sound, fury, and gorgeous production design ignite Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, a sincerely faithful adaptation of the classic William Shakespeare play; a tale of fate, regret, and greed, underpinned by a foreboding sense of inescapable doom.

If that makes this newest iteration sound more along the lines of a dreary horror film, then it should come as no surprise that this was produced by none other than A24. Coen utilises stunning black and white cinematography to exaggerate the starkness of landscapes that feel pulled straight from MC Escher’s dreams, while sticking as close as possible to the original script, resulting in a wholly original piece of art that is equal parts theatre and cinema.

Unlike the movie’s colour palette, its exploration of themes is nuanced and rich. Macbeth (thanks to a career best performance from Denzel Washington) has his soul torn apart by prophecies, his wife Lady Macbeth (played by the always fantastic Frances McDormand), his duties, and most of all, his own conscience. These forces pull at Macbeth, threatening to unravel him at every twist of the knife, yet guiding him toward his ultimate demise all the same. Scholars have long debated as to whether the Scottish king himself is even to blame for his actions, and Coen opts not to provide a clear answer, instead revelling in his torment.

The visuals are consistently both haunting and striking, utilising fog and excellent set extensions that I can only assume are CGI (though still convincing) to create a sense of endlessness to the landscapes. Clever editing tricks are used almost as if a magic all their own; transitioning seamlessly between shots several times via the motif of a moon, a circle of light highlighting how surrounded by darkness the titular character is. There is a section of the film, however, where it tends to cut just a bit too often; one sequence involving a ritual ends up feeling not quite as arcane as it could thanks to a reliance on snapping to reactions.

All this adds up to a movie that is as satisfying as it is mystifying, as bold as it is obtuse. The dialogue may be cumbersome for those not able to keep up with the Shakespearian scriptwork, but seeing it delivered with such emotion and conviction should strike a fire in the heart of theatre fanatics and lovers of arthouse cinema alike. Coen’s first directorial effort without brother Ethan couldn’t feel further from prior works like The Big Lebowski and Burn After Reading, but a tale told by an idiot this is not.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is showing in cinemas across Australia from Saturday December 25th, and streaming on Apple TV + from January 14th.