The Tragedy of Macbeth

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/the-tragedy-of-macbeth-spoiler-free-review

"The Tragedy of Macbeth is a mesmerizing technical masterpiece that could have benefited from a distinct take on the well-known Shakespearean tale.

Denzel Washington demonstrates his insane talent, as does Frances McDormand, but the former clearly stands out in a more energetic, captivating performance, powering through intricate, long monologues, which may very well result in yet another successful awards season.

Joel Coen offers his bold direction to an unsurprising, too familiar narrative, but the rest of the technical crew transforms a streaming flick into an authentic cinematic experience.

With some of the most exquisite cinematography of the century, Bruno Delbonnel staggeringly elevates every other filmmaking component (sound, costumes, sets, production design), making this a must-watch movie, whether at home or, better yet, at the theater."

Rating: B+

Not quite to my personal taste, though I still enjoyed 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' enough.

The performances of Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are superb, I always expect that from them both so I was delighted to see that be the case here. The rest of the cast are good too, including Brendan Gleeson and Corey Hawkins - get that guy back in 'The Walking Dead' universe a.s.a.p.!

I know it was by design and fully intentional, but I didn't love - not that I disliked them - the fake backdrops and theatre-esque staging, which doesn't help bring the world alive - for me, anyway. The black-and-white is neat, mind. It is, even with the aforementioned, a nicely made production.

8/10 from me, with this 2021 release having the two leads to thank for that extra 1/10.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is so damn good I’m not even going to question the logic, or lack thereof, of an African-American eleventh-century Scottish nobleman.

Then again, Laurence Olivier and Orson Welles both played Othello, and if Denzel Washington isn’t in the same league as those two, he’s as close as any living actor could be.

Like Welles, Washington projects an authoritative screen presence that successfully challenges our expectations and perceptions of the character’s appearance, while satisfying its psychological requirements.

The actor, a master of juggling physical power with mental instability (cf. Training Day; impeccably illustrated here in a scene where, emboldened by the prophecy that “none born of woman shall harm Macbeth,” he confronts, unarmed, a sword-wielding soldier and gets the best of him), inhabits, or rather is inhabited by Macbeth’s madness so completely that the question of skin color becomes irrelevant.

And Frances McDormand, who has as of late become something of a cross between Forrest Gump and a pit bull, was simply born for the role of Lady Macbeth; when she asks the “spirits that attend mortal thoughts” to de-sexualize her, it’s not hard to believe that the request has been immediately granted.

Arguably no other actress could credibly impose her will on Washington, as when she tells him that “My hands are your color [i.e., red with King Duncan’s blood], but I would be ashamed to wear such a white heart” (a phrase which, given the circumstances, takes on a whole new dimension). At the same time, McDormand can summon a world of fragile vulnerability with a single look.

Director Joel Coen, who adapted Shakespeare’s play himself, knows the words and the music. The filmmaker deserves a lot of credit for not modernizing the material (which may or may not have anything or everything to do with his brother’s conspicuous absence); he and Ethan have made a career of being iconoclasts, but Macbeth demands reverence, and this is...