Of all the William Shakespeare plays out there, Macbeth was always my favorite. I’ve seen a few adaptations over the years, none better than the great Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood. Challenging the bard and Kurosawa with this adaptation is one half of the Coen Brothers, Joel. Brining along a star studded cast, he makes probably the most faithful version of Macbeth I’ve seen so far, plus he gets Denzel Washington to say words like “prithee”, which is always a plus.
For those of you unfamiliar with this amazing play, here’s the hook. Scottish Lord Macbeth (Denzel Washington) wins a big battle for the King (Brendan Gleeson) and country. While surveying the battlefield with his best friend Banquo (Bertie Carvel), Macbeth encounters 3 witches (all played by Kathryn Hunter), who give Macbeth a prophecy that he will become the Scottish King. Macbeth writes this in a letter he sends to his wife (Frances McDormand), who’s maybe a little too eager to see this prophecy come true.
Shakespeare’s tale is rock solid brilliant: a tale of power, agency, deception, and a bit of magic. Joel probably wisely stays as faithful to the script as possible, letting the bard’s words weave their magic. What Coen brings though is an essence to Macbeth that inferior films lack. Awash in greys and browns, Coen makes the movie feel like a cross between a dream and a nightmare, using unsettling imagery like shapeshifting birds and a lonely tree with a split path to give the story its menace and dread. Coen also shoots the movie almost like it’s a play: there aren’t a lot of big epic shots of castles, but small, claustrophobic and shadowy places inside of it, which further unsettle the audience with its combination of beauty and darkness.
And anchoring the whole enterprise are simply two of the greatest to ever do it. Denzel, as he always does, commands the screen as the Scottish Lord Macbeth. Washington slowly shows the transformation of the character, as he plunges further and further into his desire for power at all costs, giving us a host of distinct emotions for each act of his arc. Arguably the better role in Shakespeare’s play is Lady Macbeth, and Joel Coen happens to be married to 3 time Oscar winner Frances McDormand. McDormand is equal to Washington in portraying descent of a powerful character burdened by bad choices and worse consequences. By the end (thanks a bit to makeup/hairstyling), McDormand’s Lady Macbeth is unrecognizable because of her fall from grace: a shell of the powerful person she once was. The supporting cast does good work here as well, but no one better than Kathryn Hunter, who singlehandedly gives Joel Coen’s Macbeth is supernatural presence and terror, with her take on the 3 witches.
I look forward to The Tragedy of Macbeth playing in high schools across the country for years to come. When it comes to Shakespeare adaptations, few are better than this one, though in my opinion, Kurosawa’s version is the best one. Even better than Shakespeare’s play. That’s right; Coens and bards ain’t got nothing on the Japanese Genius George Lucas and Steven Spielberg worshipped.