Review of The Tragedy of Macbeth

Joel Corn, writing and directing here without his brother Ethan, mis-casts, mis-designs , mis-shoots and misdirected one of Shakespeare's leanest, most filmable narratives. The roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth at the film's core are performed more as if for a reading than for a drama of unrestrained anger, dismay and, intermittently savage action. Washington in particular does not appear as character actually speaking from the heart, as opposed to reporting lines; McDormand doesn't do much better. The psychological thinness and dramatic flatness of the principals is one occasionally offset by vivid secondary performances and the starkly simplistic grayish churarascuro visuals, though original and consistent throughout the film, only underline the films flatness. Orson Welles's MACBETH, although flawed by some overly long (insufficiently edited, hard to follow) soliloquys, can serve as an example of a Macbeth filmed with energetic, complex figures at its core acting out a an intendky dramatuc take within a richly visualized world.