Review | The Tragedy of Macbeth movie review: Denzel Washington at his thunderous best in Joel Coen’s five-star Shakespeare adaptation
- Influenced by European masters like Ingmar Bergman and Carl Theodore Dreyer, the haunting visual aesthetic bursts with dark magic and folk horror imagery
- Frances McDormand is brilliant as Lady Macbeth, while Corey Hawkins and Alex Hassell lead an exceptional supporting cast
5/5 stars
More than 400 years after it was written, Macbeth remains one of William Shakespeare’s most beloved plays. A bloodthirsty tale of ambition and betrayal that is equal parts historical drama and psychological horror, it is a play whose popularity persists, despite claims that it is cursed. To this day, thespians refuse to utter its name within earshot of the stage, referring to it only as “the Scottish play” for fear of deadly repercussions.
All this only adds to the enduring mystique of the tragedy, which has been adapted for the big screen numerous times, by such illustrious filmmakers as Orson Welles and Akira Kurosawa. This latest production, assuming the full moniker The Tragedy of Macbeth, comes courtesy of Joel Coen, directing for the first time without his brother Ethan.
The film stars Denzel Washington as the ill-fated Thane, opposite Frances McDormand as his famously manipulative queen. Washington is at his thunderous best as the celebrated general, whose loyalty to King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson) becomes obscured by personal ambition after a chance encounter with a trio of prophetic witches.
Masterfully portrayed by contortionist Kathryn Hunter as a single shape-shifting crone, the weird sisters foretell that Macbeth will one day assume the Scottish throne, a revelation that proceeds to haunt him. Together with the scheming Lady Macbeth (McDormand, brilliant as always), Macbeth resolves to murder the king, and all who oppose his claim.
