The Tragedy of Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) films Shakespeare's play shortened but not simplified. Most of the text survives; everything that changes is visual. It is the first film Joel Coen directed without his brother Ethan. Composer Carter Burwell put the reason plainly: Ethan did not want to make films any more. It was shot entirely on soundstages to achieve a look untethered from reality, in black and white at a 1.37:1 aspect ratio, close to square. The reference is openly German Expressionist, Murnau and Lang. The walls are bare, the fog is studio fog, and the castle is a geometry rather than an architecture. Kathryn Hunter plays all three witches and the Old Man as well. The way she uses her body carries almost the entire supernatural weight of the film. Denzel Washington plays Macbeth and Frances McDormand plays Lady Macbeth. It received three Oscar nominations, for Best Actor, Cinematography and Production Design. It runs 105 minutes. Good for: Shakespeare, formally daring films, and black and white photography. Less good for: shortened or not, the language is still four hundred years old and following it through subtitles is tiring. The film is formal rather than emotional; the coldness is deliberate but it does not take everyone in.