Review of The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) by Ekang3 — 06 Feb 2022

Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth is characterized by its strong cast of actors and stark yet stunning visuals. Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand’s performances as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the highlights of the movie, portraying their characters with passion and accuracy.

The movie’s acting is enough to stand out by itself, but the gray backgrounds and black and white style of the movie also contribute to this movie’s dramatic and dialogue-focused spirit. While the black and white visuals of the movie are a unique choice, they match the dark and sinister themes that are present in William Shakespeare’s play.

Through its dark aesthetic and focus on dialogue, The Tragedy of Macbeth stays true to the feel and language of the actual play, but this also contributes to its flaws. The language in Shakespeare’s play does not translate well to the big screen, as I became lost in the shell of the English language that is used in the movie, which made it hard to understand what the characters were saying until I started reading the subtitles.

The bland background also made the movie seem boring at times, especially before Macbeth’s castle was raided and during moments of lengthy dialogue that would most likely be unintelligible to anyone unfamiliar with Macbeth and Shakespeare’s language in general.

Due to the black and white nature of the movie, the mood feels dreary throughout, even in moments that should be happier, such as when Malcolm is crowned as king. The combination of confusing language and black and white filming can make The Tragedy of Macbeth feel incomprehensible and drab at times, especially to people unaccustomed to Shakespeare’s writing, but to people who understand the original play, the movie may feel authentic and well-executed.

Amazing performances from Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand easily resonated with me, as even though I couldn’t exactly understand what they were saying, I could feel what they were saying. Opinions on this movie may vary, but the award garnering acting and authenticity to the original play make this a good, but not great, movie.