The Tragedy of Macbeth cast : Denzel Washington as Macbeth, Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth. Director Joel Coen

Macbeth is perhaps an unparalleled drama by William Shakespeare as the focus is more on the riving guilt that results in a splitting conscience, post crime, than the events leading to the act of butchery itself. It is more about punishment (mostly self-inflicted) than crime. Though one could argue that the reasons for Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment and Shakespeare’s Macbeth were different, the consequences of their heinous acts are much similar in nature.

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Considering that The Tragedy of Macbeth is a Joel Coen project, bereft of any contribution by his brother Ethan Coen who has otherwise remained a collaborator in most films produced by the duo, one feels akin to sipping vintage wine when watching it. The film is aptly handled by allowing it to breathe, and viewers are made to imbibe it at a sober pace lest too much smother the palate in a single sip.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a tour de force that assiduously encapsulates a tale of conspiracy and betrayal in a monochromatic format. And yet, the film never falters in exuding the many shades of a human character, the credit for which partially goes to the extraordinary ensemble of actors.

While Michael Fassbender appeared as a haughty warrior in the Justin Kurzel version of Macbeth; in this film, actor Denzel Washington appears vulnerable, more mature and astute than brusque and impulsive. The fact that Macbeth had his share of fragile moments was initially proved by his vacillation over assassinating the King, leading him to even confess to his wife that he is willing to junk his murderous ambition.

The cold-hearted personality portrayed by Washington and his consistency in dialogue delivery — straight from the original text to retain the essence of this Shakespearean drama – – is noteworthy. He takes the right pauses and allows viewers time to absorb a moment.

Case in point is the scene where King Duncan, enacted by Brendon Gleeson, bestows upon Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor but soon declares it is Malcolm, his son, who is next in line to be King of Cumberland. The disappointment and fiery ambition, which begins nesting in Macbeth, becomes apparent in Washington’s poker face; best captured in the words of the character, “False face must hide what the false heart doth know”. The character’s repressed rage finds vent in the next scene where he admits, “The Prince of Cumberland! that is a step/ On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap,/For in my way it lies.”

It is noteworthy that Joel Coen has reinvented Macbeth in a very American way which seems to assert itself through Washington’s diction. But, since the play is based in 11th century Scotland, his American accent sticks out like a sore thumb. An English accent may have been fair but then, as they say, “fair is foul, and foul is fair”.

Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, perfects hers except minute slips. She impresses with her measured acting; not overdoing parts where the chances of going overboard were ample. McDormand’s Lady Macbeth, compared to Marion Cotillard’s in Kurzel’s version, equals in embodying the conniving nature of the character that influences Macbeth to murder the King. In this, she appears more fastidious and subtle than hysteric and desperate. The mark of a mature and scheming woman is prominent. It is the literal translation of Lady Macbeth’s wish, “…and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/Of direst cruelty.”

McDormand’s soliloquy, during a fit of somnambulism, is a scene worth admiring. She aptly appears as a woman in trance but moves one when she sort of breaks the fourth wall and makes a gesture at the camera, sparking a doubt as to whether the state of trance is but a conscious act. Lady Macbeth’s death would perhaps always remain shrouded in mystery and thus a matter of debate. In the play, though she dies off-stage, suggesting suicide, the movie leaves one wondering if she really killed herself.

Certain slips, pertaining to attention-to-detail, fail to evade viewers. There’s not a scratch on either Macbeth or Banquo as they return from a bloody war against the Irish invaders, even as the apparently wounded Captain reports to King Duncan that both the Scottish generals fought with great valour and violence.

The setting of the film, shot on a sound stage, creates a closeted ambience where each character holds a secret, which, if it were to trundle out of the cupboard, could scuttle their cynical ambitions. Macbeth’s secret constricts and suffocates him like a serpent coiled around his neck, making him eventually slip into delirium.

The chiaroscuro effect casts a glimpse into the psyche of the characters and their motives which are both virtuous and sinister. This finds evidence where Lady Macbeth, while walking down a long corridor, approaches from a brighter section of the passageway but gradually steps into the shadowy part while she reads a letter from her husband. She is enticed at the prospect of him becoming King, just as the witches prophesied.

Wry humour and suspense are the sine qua non of Coen Brothers’ films. Their neo-Western crime thriller No Country for Old Men made one quake in their boots as a rotating doorknob in a dark and hushed motel room indicated the arrival of hitman Anton Chigurh in search of his target.

Here, in a tense situation, the comic relief is brought forth by Jacob McCarthy’s Wheyface — a servant who informs Macbeth about the approaching troops but is instead assailed with a barrage of expletives such as “creamfaced loon”, “goose-look” and “lily-livered boy”. The forlorn and muddled Wheyface, and his quick retreat in the face of a hurricane of insults, is what tickles the funny bone.

The success of The Tragedy of Macbeth would remain incomplete without acknowledging the intense music by Carter Burwell that relays the mood of the film — at times, euphoric, and at others, despondent. The director of photography Bruno Delbonnel creates hypnotic visuals on screen, which look like charcoal sketches on a white paper. In the main, this film can be termed as the finest Macbeth ever adapted for the screen as it retains the charm of the play being enacted on stage.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is available for viewing on Apple TV+

(The writer is a reporter, The Statesman, Kolkata)