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The Tragedy of Macbeth

2021

Joel Coen

Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins ...

6.5

3,291

Drama. Mystery Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.

	Author	Review
United States	Valerie Complex Deadline	"Joel Coen combines elements of stage and screen to create a masterful film (...) However, the production wouldn’t be as strong if it were not led by two of the best actors in the business"	POS
United States	Owen Gleiberman Variety	"All has the entranced clarity of a nightmare. The surprise, at least to me (...) is how sensual and ingenious and expressive and enveloping the film’s images are."	POS
United States	David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"A raw, lucid retelling, rendered spellbinding by its enveloping stylized design and its masterful black-and-white visuals, evoking the chiaroscuro textures of Carl Theodor Dreyer."	POS
United States	Ann Hornaday The Washington Post	"[It] becomes both a filmy dreamscape and taut documentary (...) A dazzling combination of simplicity, poetry and unsparing insight."	POS
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"Coen’s visual contrivances have something of Kurosawa and Welles, with some German expressionist shadows (...) This is a black-and-white world of violence and pain that scorches the retina (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	A. O. Scott The New York Times	"There is no comfort in Coen’s vision, but his rigor — and Washington’s vigor — are never less than exhilarating."	POS
United Kingdom	Helen O'Hara Empire	"Stark but utterly compelling, this chilling take on 'Macbeth' is a visually stunning tour de force. It’s as good as you’d expect from this cast and crew, which is saying something (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Stephen Whitty Screendaily	"The result is respectable but a little removed, more likely to intrigue cineastes, followers of the Bard, and Coen completists than to motivate mainstream audiences."	NEU
United States	Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times	"McDormand is magnificent, while Washington delivers one of the most impressive performances of his career (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Justin Chang Los Angeles Times	"'The Tragedy of Macbeth' is an immaculate vision: coldly efficient, aesthetically faultless, splendidly acted. I do wish it had a bit more blood in it."	POS
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"Denzel Washington delivers one of the best performances of his career (...) Coen knows this story well enough to keep his ambitions in check."	POS
United States	Robert Abele The Wrap	"[It] features both dazzling performances and contemporary resonance (...) It’s ruthless, intelligent, and entertaining"	POS
United States	Peter Travers ABC News	"The Coen version, led by two acting titans, raises the bar by turning a literary warhorse into an urgent cry from the heart that astounds on every level"	POS
United States	Richard Lawson Vanity Fair	"Why make another movie out of this oft-told tale? Coen’s film struggles to answer that question, partly because the filmmaker’s fascinations seem to lie not so much with the text as with other movies."	NEU
United States	Robert Daniels The Playlist	"[It] is the kind of visionary art that happens when a group of artists, at the top of their game, assemble to work on a legacy that’s near to their hearts"	POS
United States	Brian Truitt USA Today	"[It] is a template for a thoroughly modern take on Shakespeare as Denzel Washington excellently navigates a royal descent into madness (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United Kingdom	Dave Calhoun Time Out	"A bloody feast for the eyes and the ears (...) It's short, sharp and savage (...) It's a creepy, bone-shaking triumph (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune	"Washington’s dramatic interpretation may be on the conventional side, but it has true authority and enough clarity of meaning to anchor the ensemble (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	David Crow Den of Geek	"One of the best Shakespeare adaptations (...) A haunting and meditative work (...) [Coen's unorthodox choices] prove to be convincing ones (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Odie Henderson rogerebert.com	"Nowhere is the evocation of mood more prominent than in Kathryn Hunter’s revelatory performance as the Witches (...) You will have a hard time forgetting her work (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Vikram Murthi AV Club	"There’s a certain thrill to watching a restrained, 'mature' effort from a director whose films have largely exuded a youthful energy"	POS
United States	Keith Uhlich Slant	"[It] is a triumph of mood above all else. What’s absent here is the murderous lust for power that dovetails with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s lust for each other (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"	NEU
United States	Hoai-Tran Bui SlashFilm	"Coen shows an understanding of Shakespeare's original play as well as a willingness to go beyond it (...) It's nothing short of magnificent."	POS
United States	Siddhant Adlakha IGN	"[It] twists an old tale just enough to keep it fresh, but relies on tremendous lead performances by Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand to make the familiar feel exciting"	POS
Canada	Dustin Chang Screen Anarchy	"At best, 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' feels like a vanity project where a director trying to please his wife a role she always wanted to play (for 15 years apparently)"	NEG
United States	Michelle Jaworski The Daily Dot	"Although 'Macbeth' is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy, Coen’s script cuts it even further. But the end result is sharp and crisp. Once the blood starts flowing, the tension never relents (…) Rating: ★★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Kyle Smith National Review	"'The Tragedy of Macbeth' is straight-up glory-of-cinema filmmaking, and at 66, Coen continues to be one of his field’s creative leaders."	POS
United States	M.N. Miller Ready Steady Cut	"Denzel Washington gives a thunderous performance in Joel Coen's stamp on Shakespeare, 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
Canada	Chris Agar Screen Rant	"'The Tragedy of Macbeth' is a visually stunning and faithful Shakespearean adaptation fueled by captivating performances from its stars (...) It lacks the crossover appeal of Coen's previous works (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS

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