I love Shakespeare. All of it. Yes of course there are stories I find more endearing, but, it really comes down to my love of the language. The way the characters speak and form sentences. And the way you have to take a minute to figure out what the hell that person just said! Love it…

Having said that, The Tragedy of Macbeth is not one of my favorite stories. A rogue nobleman on a quest to overthrow the kingdom? Not gonna end well…

Story: If you tell it straight, there’s not much to do or consider. The writer is William Shakespeare. Joel Cohen tells it straight. The consideration is in the individual performances…

Performances: Denzel Washington as Macbeth and Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth. Let’s start there…
Both are classically trained. Both are Academy Award winners. Much is expected from these performances and much is delivered. Without making this a competition, I was more captivated by Frances McDormand’s performance than by Denzel’s. But Denzel is no slouch. He delivers.

The ensemble cast is in their element. No one seems out of place or without the stature needed to pull off Shakespeare.
Performance of note: Bertie Carvel as Banquo. Brief but powerful. His performance like Frances McDormand’s is from where the term, emote comes.

Visual: Shot in black and white. Cinematography is stunning though the sets are a bit bland. But it’s the 17th Century and they live in big stone castles… not much to see. Wardrobe doesn’t disappoint.

Rating: Shakespeare’s shortest play. Not as engaging as some others but true to the dialogue style of William Shakespeare. B-

As a Shakespeare fan, I’m always intrigued to see how other people tell his stories. And I can’t get enough of comparing his stories to see how he evolved as a storyteller.

See this film for its cultural relevance.