“The Tragedy of Macbeth” with Denzel Washington: Is it the best film about Shakespeare’s classic?

The first thing that jumped out at you with the announcement that Denzel Washington would be Macbeth in a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic was his skin color. But the racial issue is simply secondary, as the actor himself has warned. “We should live in a place where diversity does not even have to be mentioned as if it were something special,” the winner of two Oscars declared at a press conference a few days ago.

And you’re absolutely right, because “The Tragedy of Macbeth” (“La tragedia de Macbeth”, 2021) it has many other issues worth looking at. A first detail: that it is the first film directed or produced by Joel Coen solo, and not with his inseparable brother Ethan. This time, the youngest of the Coens has had nothing to do with the making of the film, after almost 40 years of a successful creative duo responsible for films such as “Fargo” (1996), “The Big Lebowski” (1998), “No place for the weak” (2007) or “True Grit” (2010).

Maybe that separation (we don’t know if permanent or momentary) has to do with the fact that “The Tragedy of Macbeth” distances itself from the usual style of the Coens. To begin with, because it is a film without any hint of the black comedy and absurdity that characterized its cinema so much (perhaps with the only exception of the notable “Miller’s Crossing” from 1990). dark and raw, Joel Coen’s Shakespearean adaptation seems not to believe in humor when exploring power and madness.

Rigorous tone that is also supported by its formal dimension, thanks to the overwhelming visual virtuosity of French director of photography Bruno Delbonnel: a maximum contrasted black and white, framed in an almost square format and therefore narrow and suffocating. Images that refer to the imposing set designs of the British Edward Gordon Craig (influence recognized by its creator), as well as the meticulously designed spaces of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s cinema, always on the verge of mystical trance.

The portent that is “The Tragedy of Macbeth” would not reach its heights without the performances of Denzel Washington y Frances McDormand as the tormented leading couple. He, violent and vulnerable at the same time, imposes his physical deployment in the collective scenes and is shown on the verge of collapse in the famous monologues that confront him with his own mind and morality.

McDormand, for his part, does not disappoint in the interpretation of a character as complex as Lady Macbeth: ambitious and ruthless until the moment when he sees the need to clean the blood on his hands with the famous “Get out, damn stain!”. It is worth mentioning that McDormand is also the wife of director Joel Coen and serves as the producer of the film, a project she pursued for many years.

The rest of the cast deserves a special mention. Kathryn Hunter in the role of the three sinister witches that will enunciate the prophecy that ends up condemning the fate of Macbeth. A disturbing apparition, marked by a physical plasticity that comes from the strictly theatrical. The pallor of that elusive body, wrapped in a black cloak, is also reminiscent of The Death of Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal”, as if to make matters even more gloomy.

It will be up to each person to evaluate and compare Joel Coen’s film with the vast filmography that has inspired Shakespeare’s work (we highlight four versions of “Macbeth” below). To our liking, we are facing one of the best film adaptations that have been made of the Bard of Avon. one in which sophistication and uniqueness do not detract from the dramatic force nor the spirit of the original story.

• “The Tragedy of Macbeth” is available on Apple TV+.

“Macbeth” (1948)

The ambitious and brilliant Orson Welles directed, wrote and starred in this adaptation that was a failure among the public and critics at the time, although over the years it was duly vindicated. Its scenic and atmospheric force stands out, with its refined photography, which somehow serves as a precedent for the recent version by Joel Coen.

“Throne of Blood” (1957)

The universality of Shakespeare’s text is confirmed with this masterpiece by Akira Kurosawa, who transfers the story from Scotland to feudal Japan without fissures in its essence. The Japanese filmmaker’s favorite actor, Toshiro Mifune, stars in this film with fascinating scenes, perhaps the best adaptation of “Macbeth” ever made.

“Macbeth” (1971)

This is the first film directed by Roman Polanski after the cruel murder of his wife Sharon Tate at the hands of Charles Manson’s sect. And some of that trauma is felt in a bloody and strange film, where violence and certain obsessions prevail in the darkest corners of the psyche. The leading role was in charge of Jon Finch.

“Macbeth” (2015)

A more than worthy adaptation directed by the Australian Justin Kurzel, who takes advantage of the new cinematographic resources to give his film intensity and vibration. In addition, with two important protagonists: an always effective Michael Fassbender and above all a Marion Cotillard who shines and captivates in her interpretation of Lady Macbeth.