Introduction

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a 2021 American historical thriller film written and directed by Joel Coen and based on the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

It is the first film directed by one of the Coen brothers without the other’s involvement. The film stars Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand (who also produced the film), Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling, Kathryn Hunter, and Brendan Gleeson.

A Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power.

Outline

Macbeth and Banquo, having led King Duncan’s army to victory over the traitorous Thane of Cawdor, are approached by three witches on the battlefield. The witches hail Macbeth will be promoted from the Thane of Glamis to Cawdor; they proclaim that he shall be King hereafter before stating that Banquo shall father a line of kings. King Duncan orders the Thane of Ross to execute Cawdor and reinvest the title upon Macbeth.

Macbeth becomes alarmed after Duncan names his son Malcolm as the prince of Cumberland, seeing the appointment as an encumbrance in his path to the throne. Macbeth writes to Lady Macbeth, informing her of the prophecies.

When Duncan decides to spend a night at Macbeth’s castle, Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to commit regicide. She drugs the King’s servants, and a hesitant Macbeth carries out the killing. Early next morning, Macduff, the Thane of Fife, discovers the body, while Macbeth murders the servants to tie up loose ends. Fearing for his own life, Duncan’s heir Malcolm flees to England, and Macbeth assumes the throne as the new King. Uneasy over the prophecy concerning Banquo, Macbeth arranges to have him and his son Fleance murdered. Macbeth’s assassins, accompanied by Ross as the Third Murderer, kill Banquo. Ross then pursues Fleance through a field.

An increasingly paranoid Macbeth becomes a tyrant. At a royal banquet, he hallucinates and begins raving at Banquo’s ghost. Lady Macbeth has the guests dismissed before drugging him to calm him down. During his trance, Macbeth is again visited by the witches. They conjure a vision of Fleance, who tells him to beware of Macduff, that he shall be King until Great Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill, and that he shall be harmed by no man born of a woman. Macbeth orders the whole Macduff household be put to death, but Macduff himself survives, having earlier fled to England.

A guilt-ridden Lady Macbeth begins sleepwalking and gradually descends into madness. Ross secretly visits England and informs Macduff of his family’s demise. A grief-stricken Macduff vows revenge, while Malcolm raises an army with English help. The troops cut down branches from Birnam Wood, using them as camouflage, and march on Macbeth’s castle at Dunsinane, fulfilling one of the prophecies. Lady Macbeth dies, plunging Macbeth into further despair. Still convinced of his invincibility, he duels with Macduff. Macduff declares he is not born of a woman but instead “untimely ripped”, ultimately besting and beheading Macbeth, fulfilling the final prophecy. Malcolm is crowned the new King of Scotland. Meanwhile, Fleance is revealed to be alive, and Ross spirits him away from Scotland, presumably leading to the fulfilment of the prophecy concerning Banquo.

Cast

• Denzel Washington as Lord Macbeth.
• Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth.
• Alex Hassell as Ross.
• Corey Hawkins as Macduff.
• Bertie Carvel as Banquo.
• Harry Melling as Malcolm, Duncan’s older son.
• Brendan Gleeson as King Duncan.
• Kathryn Hunter as the Witches / Old Man.
• Miles Anderson as Lennox.
• Matt Helm as Donalbain, Duncan’s younger son.
• Moses Ingram as Lady Macduff.
• Ethan Hutchinson as Macduff’s son.
• Scott Subiono and Brian Thompson as the Murderers.
• Lucas Barker as Fleance, Banquo’s son.
• Stephen Root as the Porter.
• Robert Gilbert as Angus.
• James Udom as Seyton.
• Richard Short as Siward, English general.
• Sean Patrick Thomas as Monteith.
• Ralph Ineson as the Captain.
• Jefferson Mays as the Doctor.
• Susan Berger as Lady in Waiting.
• Nancy Daly as Nurse.
• Wayne T. Carr as Lady Macduff’s murderer.

Production

Development

It was announced in March 2019 that Joel Coen, in a rare solo effort, was set to write and direct a new take on the William Shakespeare play. Scott Rudin was originally set to produce, and A24 would distribute.

Casting

Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand were set to star in the film. In November, Brendan Gleeson and Corey Hawkins entered negotiations to join the cast. Both were confirmed in January 2020, along with the addition of Moses Ingram, Harry Melling and Ralph Ineson to the cast.

Filming

Entertainment Weekly identified the cinematographer as Bruno Delbonnel, stating that he “frames his shots like a modern-day Fritz Lang, composed for maximum disorienting impact and scale.” Filming began in Los Angeles on 07 February 2020. To give the film a look “untethered from reality”, it was shot entirely on sound stages. In April, Coen announced that the film would officially be titled The Tragedy of Macbeth. It was announced on 26 March 2020, that filming had been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed on 23 July 2020 and concluded on 31 July 2020. The film was shot in black-and-white. In April 2021, Rudin stepped down as producer following allegations of abuse.

Set Design

Leah Greenblatt wrote in Entertainment Weekly that the production designer Stefan Dechant (who had previously designed sets for Alice in Wonderland) “sets the idea of Sir William’s [sic] traditional Scottish moors against a kind of surreal Calvinist dream world of screaming birds and sharp geometries”.

Costume Design

Costume design was done by Mary Zophres and were described by Entertainment Weekly as “fantastic: wools and grommets and leather stitched meticulously together in a mode maybe best described as Luxe Monastic.

Music

The film’s score was composed by Carter Burwell, the Coen brothers’ longtime collaborator. The score’s ominous tone is punctuated by moments of solo violin described by Burwell as “taking flight out of the darkness.” Helping the composer to channel the idea of a folk-style sound from unknown lands was award-winning violinist Tim Fain. Regarding Joel directing alone without Ethan, Burwell stated, “Ethan didn’t want to make movies anymore. He seems to be happy with what he’s just doing. They both have tons of unproduced scripts sitting on shelves, but I don’t know what Joel will do without him.”

Release

The film was theatrically released by A24 followed by global launch on Apple TV+. It had its world premiere at the 2021 New York Film Festival on 24 September 2021. It was released in a limited release on 25 December 2021, prior to streaming on Apple TV+ on 14 January 2022. It also closed the London Film Festival.

Trivia

• The whole movie was shot on a soundstage. Everything was built.
  • Except an element of the last shot in the movie, there is not a single exterior shot.
• Shot in 36 days, which was the shortest shooting Joel Coen has done.
  • Most of the shoot was completed several months after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Frances McDormand played Lady Macbeth previously in a 2016 Berkeley Rep production (also starring Conleth Hill as Macbeth and directed by Daniel J. Sullivan).
  • Denzel Washington has never been in a previous production of Macbeth, but he has appeared in numerous other Shakespeare plays, including Coriolanus, The Tragedy of Richard III, Julius Caesar and Much Ado About Nothing (1993).

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Joel Coen.
• Producer(s):
  • Joel Coen … producer.
  • Catherine Farrell … co-producer.
  • Robert Graf … producer.
  • Frances McDormand … producer.
• Writer(s):
  • Joel Coen … (written for the screen by).
  • William Shakespeare … (based on the play by).
• Music:
  • Carter Burwell.
• Cinematography:
  • Bruno Delbonnel … director of photography.
• Editor(s):
  • Joel Coen (as Reginald Jaynes).
  • Lucian Johnston.
• Production:
  • A24.
  • IAC Films.
• Distributor(s):
  • A24 (USA) (all media).
  • Apple TV+ (2021) (UK) (all media).
  • Apple TV+ (2022) (Singapore) (video) (VOD).
• Release Date: 24 September 2021 (New York Film Festival).
• Rating: 15.
• Running Time: 105 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

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