For the first time, Joel Coen is directing a film without his brother Ethan. He tackles a monument to Shakespeare with The Tragedy of Macbeth. To embody the infernal couple, he chose Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand.
What is it about ?
A Scottish lord is convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife backs him in his plans to seize power.
The Tragedy of Macbeth, a film written and directed by Joel Coen after William Shakespeare with Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Alex Hassell…
Who is it with?
Do we still have to introduce Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand? They are both among the greatest actors of their generation. Each was Oscar winner, in the “best actor” and “best actress” categories: Training Day for Denzel Washington; Nomadland and 3 Billboards, Frances McDormand’s revenge billboards.
Together they form the Macbeth couple. A couple older than in Shakespeare’s play, without heirs, and therefore more eager to come to power.
Around them, the cast is also prestigious, made up of Brendan Gleeson in the role of King Duncan, but also Alex Hassell, Bertie Carvel, Corey Hawkins and Harry Melling.
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Well worth a look ?
For the first time, Joel Coen is directing a film without his brother Ethan. And indeed, The Tragedy of Macbeth does not bear the mark of the duo so famous and so identifiable. Indeed, Ethan Coen seems to want to withdraw from the world of cinema according to Carter Bruwell, their appointed composer of the duo.
However, Joel Coen has surrounded himself with a team of faithful including Bruno Delbonnel, the director of photography who signs here a black and white, formally magnificent that makes one think of Man Ray. His images are all the more impressive as the film was shot entirely in the studio, in a setting of Calvinist austerity.
Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington both deliver an impeccable performance. Their intensity and their finesse of play come to the aid of a text – certainly magnificent, it’s Shakespeare! – but difficult to access if it is not a minimum adapted to contemporary times (or betrayed).
Throughout the film, you can’t help but see the shadow of Orson Welles hovering over every shot and every intention. It was he who set the standard for adapting Shakespeare to film and it is to him that Joel Coen constantly refers. That’s where he gets lost, being too reverent. This film lacks the facetious and insolent side that we know of the Coen brothers. But maybe that’s Joel’s new artistic path without Ethan.
