The Art of Film #4: Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth

‘When shall we three meet again?’ Joel Coen’s visually arresting adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth opens, perhaps ironically, on sound and text in an otherwise black void. After the fleeting appearance of the single word, ‘WHEN’, audiences are encompassed in darkness, cut through by Kathryn Hunter’s smoke-shattered delivery of the witches’ famous line.

Audiences are drawn from this blackness into a noirish tale of blood and betrayal. Reinvented by Coen’s sharp vision, the terrifying Macbeth (Denzel Washington) and his formidable wife (Frances McDormand) are caught in a claustrophobic nightmare that is literalized by the frames that confine them to their fate: shot in the squarish ‘Academy ratio’, the Macbeths are cornered by a destiny that at turns thrills and horrifies them.

In his first solo venture away from his brother Ethan (with whom he brought us such celebrated works as Fargo and No Country for Old Men), Joel Coen draws on Shakespeare’s verbal artistry and his predecessors’ masterful film interpretations to deliver a raw-boned and redefined version of this great tragedy, one that feels both familiar and strange.

Join John Allemand and Julie Sutherland in a 2-week study of Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021). As with previous Art of Film studies (Thelma & Louse, The Graduate), Julie and John will show select clips for discussion during the study, as well as leading a conversation about the film more generally. This study is for cineastes and Shakespeare lovers alike. No previous knowledge of the play is necessary, but participants are requested to watch the film in advance of the study.

As a separate but complementary series, Julie Sutherland is offering a 7-week study of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, beginning shortly after the film study closes (Wednesdays, 13 August-24 September). Participants in the Art of Film’s The Tragedy of Macbeth may be interested in joining this related event.

Questions to consider:

• Does Coen’s visual ingenuity complement, challenge, or compromise Shakespeare’s verbal mastery?   
• Coen’s Macbeth was written and released during the height of COVID-19. (The play itself was potentially written during an outbreak of the plague.) How evident is the concept of pandemic in Coen’s adaptation?
• In Coen’s adaptation, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are in their sixties. What is the effect of presenting an unusually ageing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?

JOINING DETAILS:

• A five-hour LitSalon ‘Art of Film’ study over two sessions
• Friday 1 August and 8 August 2025, 4.00-6.30pm (UK/BST) on Zoom
• Discussion led by Julie Sutherland and John Allemand
• Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth is available on Apple TV as well as on some Amazon Prime subscriptions. Films can be rented on Apple TV without a subscription.
• £125 for a two-session, five-hour study, including background notes and resources (N.B. participants in this study will be limited to a maximum of 12).
• Please use this link to share details of the study.