"The Tragedy Of Macbeth" -- Movie Review

On the opening night of The 59^th New York Film Festival, I attended the World Premiere of Joel Coen’s new adaptation of the Shakespeare classic, “The Tragedy Of Macbeth”.

Synopsis

When General Macbeth schemes to become king of Scotland, what price must he pay for his treachery?

Story

Since the story of “Macbeth” is well-known, you’ll be spared the details here; if you don’t know the details of this 400-year-old play, feel free to look it up online.

Review

For purists of Shakespeare, this adaptation of “Macbeth” may make some squirm; after all, not only does the film version take liberties with the source material (Coen’s version comes in at under two hours), it’s significantly more sanguinary than what some may be comfortable with.  That said, it does raise the question of whether or not “The Tragedy Of Macbeth” will attract movie goers.  Basically, you’ve got major stars playing Shakespearean roles in a famous play that’s shot film noir style (the entire motion picture is in black and white).  While it looks great, if you’re lauding the cinematography, is that going to move audiences to take a chance?

“Macbeth” the stage play has something of an infamous history.  The more superstitious members of the acting community never utter its name; instead, they merely refer to it as “The Scottish Play”.  Why this is done is because of a belief that if anyone utters the actual name of the play, then some kind of misfortune will befall the production.  There have been a number of film adaptations of this play over the decades – some of which being better than others.  Coen’s interpretation of “Macbeth” is truly a very cinematic one, but aside from fans of his, the lead actors and Shakespeare himself, questions remain about whether or not this will gain a significant following. 

Following the screening, there was a brief question and answer session with the cast and director, Joel Coen.  Coen also introduced the film; in his introduction, he said that they had begun production prior to Covid, which then caused a significant pause in the proceedings.  During the question-and-answer period post-screening, the cast unanimously agreed that part of the pleasure from participating in this project came from the fact that they had the luxury of having an extended rehearsal time before they actually began shooting.  This allowed them to try out different things and to experiment.