The story of Macbeth is a classic one, told time and time and time again. You've probably seen the 1971 Roman Polanski adaption; you may have even seen the 2016 version starring the one and only Michael Fassbender - in short, you know the tale, and you know the tragedy of one Macbeth. So on a very surface level, you know that with Joel Coen's "The Tragedy of Macbeth," you're not necessarily getting anything new.
Shot entirely on sound stages, the movie looks visually interesting; filmed in black and white, Coen adds some flair that at least makes the film engaging to look at. This stylistic decision also lends itself to some slightly creative action sequences, which are also elevated due to Denzel Washington's unhinged performance - notably, a sword fight toward the end of the film that took place in a throne room looked especially fantastic. The actors, too, all do a serviceable job. Denzel is always entertaining, and adds some tenacity to the lead role; Kathryn Hunter as the three witches is probably the best performer here, absolutely stealing the show every time she is on screen. Frances McDormand is fine with what she gets to do, which admittedly isn't all that much.
Visuals aside, "The Tragedy of Macbeth" isn't that interesting. You have to probably be a die-hard Shakespeare fan to enjoy this, because everyone is speaking lines from the original play, lines that can be hard to decipher, especially in today's day and age; all I have to say is, thank God the theatre I went to had subtitles. The dialogue is stilted, and with the brisk running time, the movie moves fast - perhaps too fast to let anything simmer. It feels like Coen was sprinting to the finish line as soon as the movie started, which doesn't bode well for audience engagement. The movie feels very rushed, and as a result, very emotionally distant. You won't find yourself caring about what's happening or who it's happening to because the film itself isn't interested in spending time to create any emotional resonance toward its plot or characters.
While the story is timeless, this adaption is, frankly, pretty boring. There's nothing really new here besides the visuals, and what is here has been done better before. I did enjoy the diverse cast, and Denzel's leading performance - other than that, I can confidently say that I will never watch this movie again.
