Denzel’s ‘Macbeth’ an engrossing entry point for Shakespeare tragedy

Every frame of Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” is a commanding visual achievement. The combination of rich black-and-white cinematography (shot in the square-framed Academy ratio) and strikingly abstract production design adds urgency and heft to the well-worn Shakespearan text.

Add two of the greatest working actors around in Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, and “The Tragedy of Macbeth” becomes an essential interpretation that also serves as an exciting introduction to those wary of the intimidating text.

Joel Coen, working without his brother Ethan, approaches “Macbeth” as a fever dream in many ways; the film embraces its stage roots in design, conjuring even the outdoor landscapes with an eye for intentional, exaggerated artificiality. That, coupled with a square frame that works best in close-ups, adds an intense focus on performance. Even if the language eludes a viewer, the faces of Washington, McDormand and a top-tier supporting cast convey the rage, anguish and madness of the text.

For those unfamiliar with “Macbeth,” or those who haven’t engaged with the text since, say, high school, viewers shouldn’t be dissuaded from a little pre-reading before entering this interpretation. Reading even a summary of events will help to embrace the film’s economic narrative approach. The movie clocks in at a swift 105 minutes, with the severe visual design, editing and propulsive musical score (by Carter Burwell) blending into a modern-feeling and dread-soaked thriller.

Both Washington and McDormand have always been riveting performers in close-up, with their faces often eliciting a feeling that serves in contrast to their spoken dialogue. McDormand harnesses this in the earliest appearances of her Lady Macbeth. Washington, meanwhile, takes a cavalier approach to his early scenes before the words begin to weigh more heavily on the man as Macbeth’s guilt, hubris and fear unravels him.

The supporting cast, which includes faces like Corey Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson and Harry Melling in key roles, provide necessary balance to the “bigger” performances by Washington and McDormand, and Kathryn Hunter disrupts the movie with incredible magnetism in two key scenes playing the story’s prophetic Three Witches. Something wicked this way comes, indeed.

In a movie year that’s already been rich with work from long-established masters of craft (Steven Spielberg, Paul Thomas Anderson, Guillermo del Toro, etc.), it’s fitting that even one half of The Coens can produce such a mesmerizing piece out from a familiar well. It would have been enough to have Washington and McDormand simply utter the words, but “The Tragedy of Macbeth” utilizes superlative craft that defies even lofty expectations.

“The Tragedy of Macbeth" is playing in select theaters and streaming on Apple TV+.

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Tyler Wilson is a member of the International Press Academy and has been writing about movies for Inland Northwest publications since 2000, including a regular column in The Press since 2006. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.