| The Tragedy of Macbeth | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Joel Coen |
| Screenplay by | Joel Coen |
| Based on | Macbeth byWilliam Shakespeare |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Bruno Delbonnel |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Carter Burwell |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Apple Original Films (throughApple TV+) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 105 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $524,779[2] |
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a 2021 Americantragedy film[3] written, directed and produced byJoel Coen, based on the playMacbeth byWilliam Shakespeare. It is the first film directed by one of theCoen brothers without the other's involvement. The film starsDenzel Washington,Frances McDormand (who also produced the film),Bertie Carvel,Alex Hassell,Corey Hawkins,Harry Melling,Kathryn Hunter, andBrendan Gleeson.
The Tragedy of Macbeth premiered at the2021 New York Film Festival on September 24, 2021. Following alimited theatrical release on December 25, 2021 byA24, the film was distributed via streaming onApple TV+ on January 14, 2022. The film received critical acclaim for its direction, cinematography, and the performances of Washington, McDormand, and Hunter. For his performance in the title role, Washington was nominated as Best Actor for theAcademy Award,Screen Actors Guild Award,Golden Globe Award, andCritics' Choice Award. The film also receivedAcademy Award nominations forBest Cinematography andBest Production Design.
Macbeth,Thane ofGlamis, and Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, having led King Duncan's army to victory over the traitorous Thane of Cawdor, are approached by three witches on the battlefield. The witches hail Macbeth as the future Thane ofCawdor and proclaim that he shall some day be King and that Banquo shall father a line of kings.
Soon thereafter, King Duncan fulfills the first prophecy by ordering the Thane of Ross to execute Cawdor and reinvest the title upon Macbeth, but King Duncan names his own sonMalcolm as the prince ofCumberland, which Macbeth sees as an encumbrance to his path to the throne. When Duncan spends a night at Macbeth's castle, Lady Macbeth, aware of the prophecies, convinces her husband to commitregicide. She drugs the King's servants, and a hesitant Macbeth murders the King. At dawn, Macduff, Thane of Fife, discovers the body, and Macbeth ties up loose ends by summarily executing the servants, ostensibly as just punishment for their supposed betrayal of the King.
Fearing for his own life, Malcolm flees to England, and Macbeth assumes the throne as the new King. Uneasy over the prophecy concerning Banquo, Macbeth arranges to have him and his sonFleance murdered. Macbeth's assassins, accompanied by Ross as theThird Murderer, kill Banquo. Ross then pursues Fleance through a field.[4]
An increasingly paranoid Macbeth becomes a feared tyrant. At a royal banquet, he hallucinates and begins raving at an apparition of Banquo. Lady Macbeth has the guests dismissed before sedating Macbeth. During his trance, Macbeth is again visited by the witches. They conjure a vision of Fleance, who tells him to beware of Macduff, that he shall be King untilGreat Birnam Wood comes toDunsinane Hill, and that he shall be harmed by no man born of a woman. Macbeth orders the whole Macduff household to be slaughtered; only Macduff survives, having fled to England earlier.
A guilt-ridden Lady Macbeth gradually descends into insanity. Ross secretly visits England and informs Macduff of his family's demise. A grief-stricken Macduff vows revenge, while Malcolm raises an army with English help. The troops cut down branches from Birnam Wood, using them as camouflage, and march on Macbeth's castle at Dunsinane, fulfilling one of the prophecies. Lady Macbeth dies, implied to have been killed by Ross, plunging Macbeth into further despair. Still convinced of his invincibility, he is ultimately challenged by Macduff to a duel. Macduff declares he is not born of a woman but instead "untimely ripped" from his mother's body. Macbeth initially refuses but ultimately accepts Macduff's challenge. Macduff defeats andbeheads Macbeth, fulfilling the final prophecy. Malcolm is crowned the new King of Scotland. Meanwhile, Fleance is revealed to be alive, and Ross spirits him away from Scotland. A flock of crows emerges in the foreground clearing the path and signaling the fulfillment of the witches' prophecy regarding Banquo's progeny.[4]
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It was announced in March 2019 thatJoel Coen, in a rare solo effort, was set to write and direct a new take on theWilliam Shakespeare play.Scott Rudin was originally set to produce, andA24 would distribute.[6]Denzel Washington andFrances McDormand were set to star in the film;[6] McDormand had previously portrayed both Lady Macbeth and one of the Three Witches in a 2016 American stage production ofMacbeth.[1] In November,Brendan Gleeson andCorey Hawkins entered negotiations to join the cast. Both were confirmed in January 2020, along with the addition ofMoses Ingram,Harry Melling andRalph Ineson to the cast.[7][8]
Filming began in Los Angeles with cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel on February 7, 2020.[9][10][11] To give the film a look "untethered from reality", it was shot entirely on sound stages.[12] In April, Coen announced that the film would officially be titledThe Tragedy of Macbeth.[3] It was announced on March 26, 2020, that filming had been halted due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[13] Production resumed on July 23, 2020,[14] and concluded on July 31, 2020.[15] In April 2021, Rudin stepped down as producer following allegations of abuse.[16]
The film's score was composed byCarter Burwell, the Coen brothers' longtime collaborator.[12] The score's ominous tone is punctuated by moments of solo violin described by Burwell as “taking flight out of the darkness.” Helping the composer to channel the idea of a folk-style sound from unknown lands was award-winning violinistTim Fain.[17] Regarding Joel directing alone without Ethan, Burwell stated, "Ethan didn't want to make movies anymore. He seems to be happy with what he's doing. They both have tons of unproduced scripts sitting on shelves, but I don't know what Joel will do without him."[18]
The film is presented inblack-and-white with anaspect ratio of 1.37:1; the production design and visual style intended to evokeGerman Expressionist film-makers likeF. W. Murnau andFritz Lang.[19][20][21][22][23]
The film was theatrically released by A24 followed by global launch onApple TV+.[24] It had its world premiere at the2021 New York Film Festival on September 24, 2021.[25][26] It was released in alimited release on December 25, 2021, prior to streaming on Apple TV+ on January 14, 2022.[27] It also concluded theLondon Film Festival.
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 92% of 287 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Led by a stellar Denzel Washington,The Tragedy of Macbeth strips the classic story down to its visual and narrative essentials."[28]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 87 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[29]
Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian wrote: "The movie hits its stride immediately with a taut, athletic urgency and it contains some superb images – particularly the eerie miracle of Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane, with Malcolm’s soldiers holding tree-branches over their heads in a restricted forest path and turning themselves into a spectacular river of boughs."[30]
Alison Willmore ofVulture wrote: "[T]he movie almost seems like it could be pared down even further until it was just Macbeth and the witch, enacting this cycle in another of the purgatories that the Coen brothers have always specialized in. WhileThe Tragedy of Macbeth is Joel Coen’s first solo directing effort...that aspect of [the Coen brothers'] long collaboration remains steady. Macbeth becomes, like so many of the Coens’ protagonists, a character trapped in his own fixations and failings, the concave world onscreen a reflection of the self he can't escape."[31]
Dave Calhoun ofTime Out wrote that it was "stage-bound in all the right ways, reminiscent of a much earlier cinema, when filmmakers barely stepped outdoors and wielded magic with shadow and light on soundstages. It’s short, sharp and savage."[32]Robbie Collin ofThe Daily Telegraph wrote that it "has simmered its source text long and low, leeching every last drop of pungency and savour from the carcass", and added that it "resonates with the ancient power of a ritual."[33]
Clarisse Loughrey ofThe Independent found Coen's symbolism to be "a literal manifestation of the avian imagery Shakespeare summons in his play ... a hallmark of the films he made with his brother Ethan – each of them rich, puzzle box films that use every element of composition and mood to whisper their true meaning to their audience."[34]
Richard Roeper fromthe Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half stars out of four, calling it "one of the most visually striking and leanest versions of 'the Scottish play' ever put on film, with blockbuster performances from Oscar winners Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington as Lady and Lord Macbeth, and a brilliant supporting cast."[35]
Richard Brody ofThe New Yorker gave the film a generally negative review, stating that "Coen’s straining for seriousness and yearning for importance breaks through to the other side with the howlers of unintentional comedy ... Coen’s stripped-down adaptation sets out to normalize Shakespearean language, but he ends up going too far."[36]
