Language: English
Denzel Washington was always a remarkable choice as Macbeth. Watching him go in the latest screen interpretation of the Shakespearean classic, you realise few actors could breathe life into Joel Coen’s unusual vision of the play as the Hollywood veteran does.
The Tragedy Of Macbeth, Joel Coen’s first directorial where he isn’t collaborating with brother Ethan, is more than just about the film’s interracial casting of its protagonist. Washington is 67 and Macbeth was in his mid-thirties when he usurped the throne. Coen smoothly accommodates the age factor into his screenplay of reinterpretation. His Macbeth seems an aging and exhausted warrior, underlined with impact by Washington’s portrayal of an ambitious man desperate for a last shot at regal glory before it is too late.
Coen’s Macbeth clearly isn’t for everyone. Puritans might point at the fact that the effort, textually at least, scales down Shakespearean essence to fit the narrative into a 105-minute runtime. More mainstream viewers may find the film too cerebral, more so since it is billed as a historical thriller. Somewhere in between lies Coen’s creativity, aimed at instilling freshness into a story that has seen countless adaptations over time.
The filmmaker chooses black-and-white cinematography for his retelling, and the gorgeously cold austerity of his frames, harking back to Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, celebrates classic Hollywood noir. The overall treatment could also remind of Edgar Allen Poe’s evocative poetry, an impact that is augmented by Carter Burwell’s haunting score.
Importantly, Coen’s effort is not merely a film adaptation of the play. Shot in 4:3 aspect ratio frames, the film unfolds more like a play captured for the screen, with a storytelling pace suited to cinema but set against the atmospherics of the stage. Bruno Delbonnel’s photography looks stark yet stylish as the narrative balances theatrical and cinematic elements to heighten the impact of one of Shakespeare’s most emotionally charged plays.
If the black and white images and dialogues in Shakespearean English sit well with the historical context of the tale, the political play, as well as the depiction of deceit and chaos, give a sense of contemporary disquiet. Mind you, this isn’t simplified fare despite the abridged storytelling. There is no evident effort on the filmmaker’s part to explain anything whatsoever. It is almost as if Coen decidedly set up his narrative for an audience that needs no introduction to Macbeth or Shakespeare.
The film opens with Macbeth (Washington) and Banquo (Bertie Carvel) on the battlefield. They are about to head home after leading the army of King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson) to victory over the Thane of Cawdor when they come across the three witches, played here as a single entity by Kathryn Hunter. The witch proclaims Macbeth will be the new Thane and, subsequently, King of Scotland. But she also states that Banquo is fated to be the father of a line of kings. When Duncan orders the execution of Cawdor and names Macbeth as Thane, the latter writes to Lady Macbeth (Frances McDormand) mentioning the prophecies. The ensuing greed for power that engulfs Lord and Lady Macbeth as they are consumed by ambition for the throne is paralleled only by their paranoia. Macbeth, goaded by his Lady, will first murder Duncan to seize the throne and then engage in further bloodbath driven by fear and insecurity, thereby hurtling down a path of doom.
Coen’s storytelling broadly sticks to the original plot but his production delves deeper with imagery. A sense of discomfort is established right away, as the films opens with frames shrouded in fog on the battlefield. The pall of grey portends uncertainty and unease. In fact, if the film’s black and white camera work remains a high point, Coen can accord full marks to his art team (production design by Stefan Dechant, art direction by Jason T. Clark and sets by Nancy Haigh) for seamlessly complementing the visuals and creating a look that adds heft to the looming tragedy. Coen’s Macbeth revisit is abstract in interesting ways, highlighted notably by the minimally-designed castle that leaves a foreboding after image, as if to define the protagonist’s murderous madness. The abstract treatment resonates in the play of light and shadows, too, as Coen brings out the dark psyche of Macbeth, with myriad greys accentuating the layers of the narrative and bringing alive a gamut of emotion from rage to confusion and from doubt to guilt.
It is an aesthetic set-up fit for a king and Denzel Washington delivers a performance that is nothing short of regal, literally and otherwise.
He is effortless while balancing the complexity of a character that is at the same time a powerful monarch and a mere mortal defenceless against fate. Washington’s Macbeth will be regarded as an important part of his distinguished oeuvre, ranking among his best acts ever.
Surprisingly, Coen is reluctant to wholeheartedly invest in the relationship subtext of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It is something that prevents the peerless Frances McDormand from giving her best. McDormand, incidentally one of the producers of the project along with husband Joel Coen, is somewhat done in by a role that simply never matches her histrionic range. Perhaps Coen wanted to visualise the Macbeths as a couple unlike what we have always known them to be, which led to an attempt to redefine Lady Macbeth. McDormand impresses as the sinister Lady. Only, she hardly gets scope to add an extra spin to her role.
The casting of Kathryn Hunter and Bertie Carvel, among a plethora of other revered names from the world of English stage, is naturally an asset. Hunter’s portrayal is chilling, in what has to be one of the most innovative imaginations of the witches on film. Carvel’s Banquo, Brendan Gleeson’s Duncan, Alex Hassell’s Ross, Corey Hawkins as Macduff and Harry Melling as Malcolmare finely interpreted acts.
For the cast, the film is actually about expressing inner turmoil. For, compared to most other screen adaptations of the play, this version is lower on physical violence (random recall brings to mind Roman Polanski’s brutal take of 1971). Coen’s focus seems to be more on capturing implosions that his characters may suffer.
This is not the best of Joel Coen, but the filmmaker’s success lies in capturing the universality implicit in the tale. Macbeth could be set anywhere, with its themes of ambition, desire for power, treachery and self-destruction (a reason it has found adaptation in cinema all round the world including Hollywood and Bollywood). Coen’s film stands out as a classy take on a timeless classic.
Rating: * * * *
The Tragedy Of Macbeth will release on 14 January on AppleTV+.
Watch the trailer here
Vinayak Chakravorty is a senior film critic, columnist, and film journalist based in Delhi-NCR.
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