Review of The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) by Magdalenatruta — 04 Feb 2022

An Interesting Tragedy.

This particular version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is very different from most of today’s movies, mainly because of Coen’s choice to make it black and white. However, as a result, they were able to use lighting and shadows as a framework to a greater extent than most movies in color. Another point to make about the background is the minimalistic scenery that makes it a little too modern. It doesn’t seem like the play is taking place in 11th century Scotland. Other decisions I didn’t expect pertained to the characters or their interpretation of Shakespeare’s text, such as Fleance being so young and timid. The Macbeths have a much closer relationship in the movie than they do in the play as well. It sort of undermines Lady Macbeth’s power in their relationship because they really are partners, even though she also hides his follies, one of which is killing the guards framed for the murder of Duncan. In that very scene, I was particularly bothered by Macbeth being seriously unconvincing. There were numerous laudable things about “The Tragedy of Macbeth'' nonetheless. The witches and the scenes with them were one of my favorite aspects of the movie. Portraying them as contortionists and the idea of only seeing one but hearing the other two echo her was intriguing. Another character I believe to have been one of the most captivating was Lady Macbeth, just like in the play. Changes going on within her were very apparent from her facial expressions and behavior to her manner of speaking. In fact, the whispered dialogue and unnerving calmness the other characters also displayed at times gave the movie an eeriness fitting the tragedy. The booming sounds made by the blood dripping on the floor was an excellent way of making the movie more horror-like as well. “The Tragedy of Macbeth” is definitely not for those who have never read the play though, primarily because of the language, which is confusing unless analyzed beforehand. For me, the movie was a solid B+.