Joel Coen’s Visually Stunning Macbeth Adaptation Gets A New Trailer

When you hear “Macbeth,” you might instinctively wonder, “Another adaptation? Doesn’t the Shakespearean fable have enough takes on it already?”

Yes, the story has been told one too many times but never quite like Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth.

For those who missed the film when it premiered in select few theatres over the holiday season, the film is coming to Apple TV+ soon. The streamer has released a full-length trailer, teasing what’s in store for fans of the Coen Brothers as Joel goes solo.

The trailer reveals the plot we already are familiar with as Lady Macbeth (Frances McDormand) urges her husband, Lord Macbeth (Denzel Washington), to fulfill his prophecy to become the King of Scotland by killing King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson).

It begins with one of Kathryn Hunter’s witches narrating the classic line, “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”

The short clip promises a thrilling and uneasy experience as we get hints of Macbeth and his wife’s guilt and paranoia, pushing them further into a state of madness as they commit more acts of betrayal and murder.

The visuals and set design are stunning, with every single shot of the trailer having perfect harmony and symmetry. The clip showcases a noir blend of cinema and theatre, as dripping sounds in intervals and knocks fastening in the back increases the sense of urgency with dialogues spoken in verse.

Although Joel did not work with his brother and longtime partner, Ethan, on this film, he did have cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel and production designer Stefan Dechant onboard. Delbonnel has previously worked with the Coen brothers on Inside Llewyn Davis and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

In a recent interview, Coen explained his vision for the story and said he wanted it to maintain the essence of the play with less regard to realism,

The ambition was to do it very much as a movie in terms of embracing what the medium gives you stylistically and psychologically and formally, but trying not to lose the essence of the play-ness of the piece of literature. From the very beginning, we weren’t interested in doing a realistic version of the play. We weren’t interested in a rent-a-castle version.

The film has already received high praises since its theatrical release, with critics calling it one of the best adaptations of Macbeth. An A24 and IAC Films production, the black-and-white feature used an almost square academy-ratio frame and was shot with an Alexa LF.

The Tragedy of Macbeth will be available for streaming on Apple TV+ starting January 14, 2022.

About The Tragedy of Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a 2021 drama film written and directed by Joel Coen, based on the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. It is the first film directed by one of the Coen brothers without the other’s involvement.

The film stars Denzel Washington as the titular Macbeth, joined by Frances McDormand (who also produced the film), Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling, and Brendan Gleeson.

After a limited theatrical release on December 25, the movie will be available for streaming on Apple TV+ on January 14.