The Tragedy of Macbeth is a 2021 drama film written and directed by Joel Coen, based upon William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The film was produced by A24 and Apple TV+.
As is usually the case, the Scottish lord Macbeth (Denzel Washington) encounters three witches (Kathryn Hunter plays all three) who prophesy that he shall be Thane of Cawdor and, eventually, King of Scotland. After the first part of the prophesy is fulfilled, Macbeth and his ambitious wife (Frances McDormand) scheme together to seize power from Duncan, the current king (Brendan Gleeson), heedless of the consequences that will follow and the enemies they will make...
Corey Hawkins plays Macduff and Bertie Carvel plays Banquo, Stephen Root has one scene as the drunk porter, Harry Melling plays Duncan's son Malcolm and Moses Ingram plays Lady Macduff. The film received a limited theatrical release, starting on December 25th, 2021 before streaming on Apple TV starting January 14th, 2022.
The Tragedy of Macbeth contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptation Expansion: Ross, a rather minor character in the play who often acts a messenger and comfort to other characters, has his characterization expanded here. He deliberately ingratiates himself with the Macbeths after they become monarchs (as opposed to the play, where his loyalty to them is never explained and may simply be a survival tactic), takes the part of the Third Murderer and assists in killing Banquo,note keeps watch for the murderers who arrive to kill the Macduffs whilst distracting Lady Macduff with false comfort, and possibly murders Lady Macbeth to get on Malcolm's good side. The last scene of the film shows him fetching Fleance from a safe house and riding away with him, with the possible implication that he may be plotting to usurp Malcolm to put Fleance on the throne.
- Ambition Is Evil: If you have to kill your king for it, at least. What's tragic is that Macbeth had received high honors and was in line for more: in a line from the play that this film keeps, Duncan tells Macbeth "I have begun to plant thee, and will labor/To make thee full of growing."
- And the Adventure Continues: The film ends with Ross sneaking away with Fleance, almost certainly plotting to put the boy on the throne in Malcolm's place.
- And Your Little Dog, Too!: Macbeth orders Fleance killed to cut off Banquo's line, but his order to kill Macduff's family is sheer spite.
- Ascended Extra: Ross becomes a much more noticeable and important role here.
- Audible Sharpness: Multiple zing-s when swords are drawn, but also, a very loud audible zing when Macbeth pulls out a knife during the "Is this a dagger I see before me?" speech. ("I see thee yet, in form as palpable/As this which now I draw.")
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: Ross gives Macbeth's crown to Malcolm at the end. "Hail, king of Scotland!"
- Big Bad Slippage: Macbeth starts out as Duncan's loyal lieutenant, brave and true...and becomes a bloodthirsty tyrant.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The Old Man that has a conversation with Ross about all the weird stuff that happened the night Duncan was killed (the Old Man says he saw an owl kill a hawk). In the play that one idle conversation is the only time the Old Man appears. In this story the Old Man turns out to be the one that was helping Ross hide Fleance.
- Chiaroscuro: Plenty of deep shadows and dramatic contrasts of light and dark throughout the film.
- Circling Vultures: Ravens are seen circling overhead as the film opens. This is logical (a battle has just been fought), and sets an ominous mood, but it also may be an early appearance of the Weird Sisters, who seem to be able to turn into ravens.
- Colorblind Casting: Maternal cousins Macbeth and Duncan are played by the Black Denzel Washington and the white Brendan Gleeson respectively.
- Composite Character:
- Several smaller Lords and characters are folded into Ross, giving him a more substantial role in the play compared to other adaptations.
- Seyton is also combined with several other unnamed servants and the murderers of Lady Macduff and her son.
- Siward and Young Siward are folded into one character. (It's Young Siward, the son, that Macbeth kills in the play right before the final confrontation with Macduff).
- Credits Gag:
- Macbeth insults the servant who brings word of the approaching army by calling him "whey-face". In the credits that character is named "Wheyface."
- Joel and Ethan Coen frequently edit their films themselves under the pseudonym "Roderick Jaynes". As Joel directed this film alone, the editing credit goes to one "Reginald Jaynes".
- Creepy Crows: A motif throughout the film. The Weird Sisters transform into crows. A crow seems to transform into the ghost of Banquo. The film ends with a whole flock of crows obscuring the camera as Ross and Fleance ride away.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Without drawing his sword, Macbeth defeats Siward by simply dodging his blows, pushing him around, and eventually stealing the man's blade. He even gives up on the fight and begins to walk away, but when Siward rushes at Macbeth's back, he handily finishes the prince off.
- Cutting Back to Reality: Macbeth has a fight with his hallucination of Banquo, but after we see Lady Macbeth and the court enter the room, we cut back to reveal Macbeth has really been fighting a raven.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The movie is filmed in black and white, both befitting its antiquity and the stark reality of morality in the tale.
- Dead-Hand Shot: Macbeth kills Duncan in his sleep; we then see a shot of his still hand with blood dripping downwards.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: The play never reveals exactly how Lady Macbeth dies, but it's said that she's thought to have committed suicide, and other screen adaptations sometimes show her doing just that. Here it's implied that Ross murders her (see Killed Offscreen below).
- Dragon with an Agenda: In this version, Ross quickly becomes Macbeth's right-hand man and plays an important part of Macbeth's reign as his personal assassin and enforcer. However, he eventually sells Macbeth out to Malcolm, and in the end is revealed to have been keeping Fleance under guard, revealing that he had been playing both sides for his own unknown ends.
- Evil Is Hammy: Macbeth begins the story as a rather quiet and reserved man. As he gets deeper and deeper into his various murder plots, he starts shouting and wildly gesticulating much more.
- Face Framed in Shadow: Lady Macbeth's face is covered in shadow as she tries to goad her husband into killing the king, while Macbeth's face is only half-covered in shadow. As he is convinced more and more to give in to his ambition, the light dims and the shadows cover more of his face.
- Film Noir: Cited
as an influence on the film's bleak, monochrome visual style. - German Expressionism: Likewise an inspiration for the abstract sets and stark lighting of the film.
- Headbutt of Love: The Macbeths are said to be the only Happily Married couple in the Shakespeare canon. That's shown here when they do the headbutt of love as she gives him the "screw your courage to the sticking place" spiel, egging him on to murder.
- He Knows Too Much: If, as strongly implied, Ross killed Lady Macbeth, this would be why. The look on his face when he sees her in the castle makes it obvious that he realizes she knows that he killed Banquo and the Macduff family.
- Hitler Cam: A POV shot shows Ross looming over a helpless, terrified Fleance. The ending reveals that Ross let Fleance live, because Ross is Playing Both Sides.
- Instant Oracle: Just Add Water!: Macbeth's second scene with the Weird Sisters see them flood his bedchamber from the rafters and throw ingredients in the water like it's a giant cauldron. After some bubbling, the reflection of a child appears in the water and tells Macbeth three prophesies. The Weird Sisters disappear and the water drains out of the room.
- Karma Houdini: Ross directed the killings of Banquo and Macduff's family. He gets away with everything.
- Karmic Death: Usurper-king Macbeth dies when he looks away from Macduff to pick up his fallen crown, giving Macduff the opening to behead the tyrant.
- Killed Offscreen: In the play, Lady Macbeth dies offstage. If productions do show her death, she's usually shown committing suicide. This film, however, strongly implies that she was killed by Ross. As people are running around chaotically in the castle, Ross, who knows that Lady Macbeth knows about his crimes, sees her at the top of the stairs. He's shown walking up towards her. She's shown later, dead at the bottom of the stairs.
- Missing Reflection: The Weird Sisters at first appear to be just one woman with two reflections, but as two more women appear, the reflections vanish. None of the sisters have reflections for the rest of the scene.
- Mythology Gag: The film is titled The Tragedy of Macbeth because that is what the play was titled when it was printed in the First Folio. Most other print editions, stage productions, and filmed adaptations are simply titled "Macbeth".
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: As is often in Shakespeare, the actors keep their natural accents rather than affecting that of the setting, in this case Scotland. Making this instance more noticeable than usual is that the cast is a mix of American and UK actors, so the accents vary quite a bit.
- Ominous Fog: There's spooky fog everywhere, like when Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches or when Macbeth and Macduff have their final duel on the castle battlements. This detail is taken straight from the text ("hover through the fog and filthy air").
- Ominous Hair Loss: Lady Macbeth, who is starting to look more haggard, reaches up and easily pulls out a whole hank of her hair. Her "out damned spot" mad scene comes soon after.
- Percussive Therapy: Macbeth responds to his inability to wash off Duncan's blood by throwing away the bowl of water across the room in a fit of anger.
- Playing Both Sides: Ross is seen carrying out the worst of Macbeth's bidding without a hint of guilt and also happily provides information to Macduff and Malcolm. In the end, it seems he had a more of an interest in the two claimants weakening each other through war than an interest in any party in particular, since he has the future king Fleance in his possession.
- P.O.V. Cam: The scene where Ross finds Fleance hiding in the fields is shot from Fleance perspective, showing Ross looming over him with a sword and torch in hand. The scene cuts away just as a Slasher Smile comes across Ross's face.
- Race Lift: Black actors Denzel Washington and Corey Hawkins portray the implicitly white Shakespearian characters Macbeth and Macduff respectively. Macduff's wife and children are also played by black actors.
- Slouch of Villainy: In the earlier parts of the film, when he's a loyal soldier and hero, Macbeth affects the erect posture of a military man. Near the end, after he's king and neck-deep in murder, he's slouching lazily on his throne as he receives the "cream-faced loon" servant, and again when Siward comes charging in.
- The X of Y: The title The Tragedy of Macbeth, faithful to the original Shakespearean title, and obviously emphasizing the tragedy of Macbeth's fall.
