THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

 Denzel Washington     Frances McDormand     Corey Hawkins     

Brendan Gleeson     Bertie Carvel     Harry Melling     Kathryn Hunter

            It’s somewhat curious to me that the famed director Joel Coen (usually with his brother Ethan, but not this time) would choose to film a Shakespeare play.  We don’t seem to be in the right climate for that now, but I read that his wife Frances McDormand had for some time wanted him to direct the Macbeth play.  When he finally decided to do it, it was to make a film of it, although it was important to him to maintain a sense of the play.

            The two lead actors McDormand (Macbeth’s wife) and Denzel Washington (Macbeth) have both had experience acting in Shakespearean plays, and their renditions of the cadence and verse of the familiar lines appear natural and authentic.  Their performances here are award-worthy.  Roles played by the supporting actors (Corey Hawkins, Brendan Gleeson Harry Melling, and Bertie Carvel) are strong as well.  The cast and the special effects are the most appealing aspects of the film, a testament to Joel Coen’s direction and production abilities.

            The film is black and white, contributing to the intended qualities of starkness and eeriness.  When the witches—especially Hecate (Kathryn Hunter)—foretell the future, special effects add emphasis most effectively.  Hunter is such a wonder in contorting her body into seemingly impossible positions, it almost distracts from her prophesies.  But clearly Macbeth remains captivated and convinced that she is telling the truth, that he will one day be king of Scotland.  When he is in doubt, he evokes these spirits to reassure him, although of course he does not fully comprehend what the prophecies actually say.

Essential to the production was Stefan Dechant’s production design.  He and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel created dark, foggy scenes outside and indoors that reflected the required mysteriousness and drama in the plot.  Likewise, Carter Burwell’s musical score with a mix of medieval and modern music sounds fit with all the different moods and auras of the film.

I was not excited to see a Shakespearean drama, but as I started watching and getting into TheTragedy of Macbeth, I began to be engrossed.  Surprising were the little thrills I got when some familiar quote appeared, and I realized that although I recognized them as Shakespeare, I had forgotten they came from this particular play.  Seeing them in context was especially pleasing.  I was also charmed by the language at times, such as “Let us not be dainty of leave taking” when two actors realize they need to disappear post-haste.

 

Shakespeare is not to everyone’s taste, but for those who still relish it, this impressive production of The Tragedy of Macbeth will surely please.

 

Grade:  A                              By Donna R. Copeland

THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS

Liam Neeson     James Franco     Tim Blake Nelson     Tom Waits     Zoe Kazan     Grainger Hines

Harry Melling     Brendan Gleeson     Jonjo O’Neill     Chelcie Ross     Tyne Daly     Saul Rubinek

      Ethan and Joel Coen have chosen to produce a western anthology containing six stories for their latest film.  Most of the main characters in each are loners, and there is at least one death in every story, but there are surprises in every one, particularly for the victims.  Characteristic of the Coens as well, humor—even if it’s sick—pops up from time to time. The music by Carter Burwell and cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel increase the artistic quality of the western stories significantly.

     In the first story titled “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”, Tim Blake Nelson is Scruggs, a singing cowboy, who receives a dare everywhere he goes.  He’s a sharp shooter who can even hit his target looking backward through a handheld mirror—which doesn’t exactly jive with his crooning talents.

     In “Near Algodones”, Cowboy (Franco) looks up to see an isolated bank in Tucumcari, New Mexico, thinking it will be an easy target, especially with only one old man as a single teller.

     In “Meal Ticket”, Impresario (Neeson) carries a paraplegic “Thespian orator” (Melling) through western towns to deliver poems and addresses based on the Bible and Abraham Lincoln’s speeches to the local townspeople.  The two support themselves by taking up collections at the end of each performance.  Then, the impresario discovers that a chicken might be just as entertaining.

     The next two stories are the best.  In “All Gold Canyon”, Tom Waits is a prospector panning for gold.  He mumbles constantly—either to his horse or to a deity, or someone else, not sure which—but after panning doggedly for gold, he finds a mother lode.  But…someone has been following him all this time and sees what he has discovered.

      In “The Gal Who Got Rattled”, Alice (Kazan) and her brother are in a wagon train headed for Oregon, where he has a business opportunity and the hope that his partner will want to marry Alice.  Unexpected events occur, which means that Alice is on her own and must make decisions for herself.

     Finally, in “The Mortal Remains” five travelers are in a stagecoach headed for Ft. Morgan.  It’s a motley group: Two bounty hunters, a French gambler, the wife of a minister, and a trapper.  They have rather tedious arguments about humankind (“There are two types, hale and frail”, “No, there are the upright and the sinners”). The trapper says he has only one kind, the dead, “but they’re different…” he allows.  The fears of death among three in the group are readily apparent when it’s time to stop, and the “bounty” of the bounty hunters is carried out in a bag and inside and up the stairs.  They have to force themselves to go inside.   

     The “surprised by death” theme is one thing that connects all the stories, except for the last one in which we’re left with not being sure whether or not the three passengers have something to fear.  At any rate, death is on their minds.  And, by the way, the Coen meanings/points/connections between the stories are not obvious in the least.  

More quirky, thoughtful, humorous tales from the Coen brothers.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland