Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed in this review are solely those of Marlon Wallace and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of WBOC.
Denzel Washington is the 67-year-old movie star who most people know from his roles in films like Malcolm X (1992) and Training Day (2001), the latter of which won him the Oscar. However, Washington has been involved in nine theatrical productions. Three of those were William Shakespeare plays. However, this isn’t the first time Washington has done a film adaptation of Shakespearean play. This is his second. His first was Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Washington wasn’t the star of that film. Now, he is. His Golden Globe Award nomination and his Screen Actors Guild Award nomination indicate that Washington will be nominated at the 94th Academy Awards for Best Actor.
Washington stars as Macbeth, a Scottish thane or a man who is feudal lord. He’s basically a person who oversees an area of land for the king or whoever the monarch is. After a witch tells him that he will be king, he’s set on a path in which he will be consumed with ambition and holding onto his power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM3hsVrBMA4 The Tragedy of Macbeth | Official Trailer HD | A24 Credit: A24
Frances McDormand (Nomadland and Fargo) co-stars as Lady Macbeth, the wife to Macbeth. She’s a woman of a certain age who has no children or other relatives. When she learns of the witch’s prophecy, she becomes even more consumed with ambition. She’s the one who in fact plots to kill the current king so her husband can take the king’s place. She’s clearly more ruthless, cunning and arguably sociopathic.
Of all the actors here, McDormand’s performance is the one that shines the brightest. Even if you are someone who doesn’t get or can’t absorb all of the Shakespearean language and poetry as dialogue, McDormand’s performance transcends. She clearly understand the language and interprets it in a way that she could speaking gibberish and still the audience understands everything she’s saying and doing.
Corey Hawkins (In the Heights and Straight Outta Compton) also co-stars as Macduff, another Scottish thane who is suspicious of the king’s murder. He gets into Macbeth’s crosshairs and then has to be the one to avenge the murders perpetrated. He proves to be a good foil to Washington’s character. The two come head-to-head in a thrilling climax.
There’s a chance that this film might get Oscar nominations for Best Music, Original Score and it could possibly get recognized in Production Design and Cinematography. I would think that if it did, those nominations would absolutely be warranted. Starting with the cinematography, it’s black-and-white and in Academy ratio. Director Joel Coen has done black-and-white before with The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), but that film was widescreen. This one has a more box-like aspect ratio and done to heighten the German expressionism that Coen envisioned. The Production Design certainly emphasizes that German expressionism with the sets and shapes in the frame being more square or hard-edged.
The film didn’t make the shortlist for Visual Effects, but the VFX here are pretty incredible. The use of smoke and fog might be a bit over-the-top with so many characters emerging from fog, which perhaps underlines the obscurity of vision or the fog of perception that is a theme of the play and flaw of the protagonist. There’s a pretty striking trick where Macbeth is sitting in his bedroom and the floor fills with water that is haunting. What also is haunting are all the acts of violence. The film becomes pretty brutal with even the murder of children depicted. One shot of a child being killed will certainly haunt me for a while.
Rated R for violence
Running Time: 1 hr. and 45 mins.
In select theaters, including Rehoboth Beach.
Available on Apple TV+ on January 14.
