THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH: driven, then haunted

Photo caption: Denzel Washington in THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH. Photo courtesy of A24.

Director Joel Coen brings us the best of Shakespeare in The Tragedy of Macbeth. Of course, he has two of our finest screen actors as his leads – Denzel Washington as Macbeth and Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth. They are both great. McDormand has played Lady Macbeth on stage at the Berkely Rep.

Vaulting ambition. Macbeth has always been my favorite Shakespearean play because my own life’s work has been a study of political ambition. Ambition raises one essential question, will you do what it takes? At first, Lady Macbeth worries that Macbeth is too decent to do what it takes, but then…

Coen is very faithful to Shakespeare’s original version, although he compresses some minor characters. Coen tells the story in a brisk one hour, forty-five minutes. The play is usually performed in well over two hours, and Roman Polanski’s fine 1971 Macbeth ran almost two-and-a-half hours.

Coen has chosen to use black-and white to bring out the darkness of the plot, the gloominess of dank medieval Scotland and the supernatural aspects. His staging reflects that the original work is a play.

Frances McDormand in THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH. Photo courtesy of A24.

Bertie Carvel brings the needed gravitas and decency to Banquo, an accomplished man betrayed. Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter franchise) is perfectly cast as Malcom, as is Brendan Gleeson as Duncan.

Coen has enhanced the role of Ross, plugging him in to some situations that add ambiguity to his intentions. Alex Hassell is very good as Ross, maintaining the mystery of whether he is a good guy or a villain.

Kathryn Hunter in THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH. Photo courtesy of A24.

The most extraordinary performance in The Tragedy of Macbeth is that of Kathryn Hunter as the Witches and the Old Man. Hunter’s intensity and the contortions of her body bring a startlingly credible supernatural cast to these characters, which Coen enhances even more with his staging. Look for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for Hunter.

I’ll be adding The Tragedy of Macbeth to my Best Shakespeare Movies, along with Roman Polanski’s 1971 Macbeth.  Polanski set Shakespeare’s definitive study of vaulting ambition in an especially dank and gloomy medieval Scotland.  Unsurprisingly for a Polanski film, the witches and Macbeth’s visions are nightmarishly trippy.  And Polanski makes Birnam Wood march on film as Shakespeare could not have dreamt of doing on stage. As Lady Macbeth, Francesca Annis played the sleepwalking scene nude.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is brilliant. It is streaming on AppleTV and playing in a few art house theaters.

Movies to See Right Now

Michael Caine in YOUTH
Michael Caine in YOUTH

This week I’ve got sixteen movie recommendations, beginning with six on my list of Best Movies of 2015.

  • Mustang, about exuberant Turkish teenage girls challenging traditional repression.
  • Creed, the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise; it’s about the internal struggle of three people, not just The Big Fight.
  • The Irish romantic drama Brooklyn is an audience-pleaser with a superb performance by Saoirse Ronan.
  • Youth, a glorious cinematic meditation on life with Michael Caine.
  • Spotlight – a riveting, edge-of-your-seat drama with some especially compelling performances.
  • The Big Short – a supremely entertaining thriller – both funny and anger-provoking.

Here are ten more choices. There’s something for everyone.

    • Legend – a true-life story and the best crime drama of 2015. Tom Hardy plays both gangster twin brothers.
    • Carol – a vividly told tale of forbidden love.
    • Very Semi-Serious – a Must See documentary if you love the cartoons in The New Yorker. It’s showing on HBO.
    • Macbeth – an excellent new version of Shakespeare’s exploration of ambition. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star.
    • Hitchcock/Truffaut – a Must See for serious movie fans, this insightful documentary probes documentary Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work.
    • Chi-Raq: Spike Lee’s plea for inner city peace with justice, AND it’s a sex comedy.
    • Bridge of Spies – Steven Spielberg’s Cold War espionage thriller with Tom Hanks, featuring a fantastic performance by Mark Rylance.
    • Trumbo – the historical drama that reflects on the personal cost of principles.
    • Don Verdean – a dark satire on the faux scientists embraced by the Christian Right.
    • Spectre – action and vengeance from a determined James Bond.

I’m not a fan of Joy or The Danish Girl.

MUSTANG
MUSTANG

This week, you can set your DVR for two classic film noir classics on January 9. The 1962 Cape Fear features Robert Mitchum at his most menacing. Kiss of Death includes Richard Widmark’s breakthrough performance as psychopath Tommy Udo.

On January 11, Turner Classic Movies will present Sullivan’s Travels (1941). The great Preston Sturges created this fast-paced and cynical comedy about a pretentious movie director who goes out to be inspired by The Average Man – and gets more of an adventure than he expects. There has never been a better movie about Hollywood. It’s on my A Classic American Movie Primer – 5 to Start With.

Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea in SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS
Veronica Lake and Joel McCrea in SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS

Movies to See Right Now

Steve Carell (right) in THE BIG SHORT
Steve Carell (right) in THE BIG SHORT

Here are my extensive recommendations, beginning with six on my list of Best Movies of 2015. This is the very best time to go to the movies.  Scroll all the way down for six bonus picks on video.

  • Mustang, about exuberant Turkish teenage girls challenging traditional repression.
  • Creed, the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise; it’s about the internal struggle of three people, not just The Big Fight.
  • The Irish romantic drama Brooklyn is an audience-pleaser with a superb performance by Saoirse Ronan.
  • Youth, a glorious cinematic meditation on life with Michael Caine.
  • Spotlight – a riveting, edge-of-your-seat drama with some especially compelling performances.
  • The Big Short – a supremely entertaining thriller – both funny and anger-provoking.

Here are ten more choices. There’s something for everyone.

  • Legend – a true-life story and the best crime drama of 2015. Tom Hardy plays both gangster twin brothers.
  • Carol – a vividly told tale of forbidden love.
  • Very Semi-Serious – a Must See documentary if you love the cartoons in The New Yorker. It’s showing on HBO.
  • Macbeth – an excellent new version of Shakespeare’s exploration of ambition. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star.
  • Hitchcock/Truffaut – a Must See for serious movie fans, this insightful documentary probes documentary Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work.
  • Chi-Raq: Spike Lee’s plea for inner city peace with justice, AND it’s a sex comedy.
  • Bridge of Spies – Steven Spielberg’s Cold War espionage thriller with Tom Hanks, featuring a fantastic performance by Mark Rylance.
  • Trumbo – the historical drama that reflects on the personal cost of principles.
  • Don Verdean – a dark satire on the faux scientists embraced by the Christian Right.
  • Spectre – action and vengeance from a determined James Bond.

Today Turner Classic Movies is presenting an entire day of the irresistible William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora in The Thin Man, After the Thin Man, Another Thin Man, Shadow of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home and Song of the Thin Man.  And on New Year’s Day, TCM is showing the superb proto-noir M (1931) – if you’re going to see one pre-war European film – see this one.

And to binge watch on this Holiday weekend, here are six more movies from my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far that are available to stream or to rent on DVD:

      • The smartest road trip movie ever, The End of the Tour. It’s available streaming from Amazon Instant, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
      • The unforgettable coming of age dramedy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. It’s available streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play and now available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox.
      • The extraordinary Russian drama Leviathan, a searing indictment of society in post-Soviet Russia. Leviathan is available streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Flixster.
      • The hilariously dark Argentine comedy Wild Tales. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.
      • The Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy, the story of an extraordinarily gifted person’s escape from torment. Love & Mercy is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes and Vudu.
      • The gentle, thoughtful and altogether fresh dramedy I’ll See You In My Dreams with Blythe Danner, available to stream from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

MUSTANG
MUSTANG

Movies to See Right Now (Holiday edition)

MUSTANG
MUSTANG

If you’ve been waiting all year for excellent cinema, you’re in luck. This week, I have SIXTEEN recommendations, with SIX of them on my list of Best Movies of 2015.  Scroll all the way down for six bonus picks on video.

  • Mustang, about exuberant Turkish teenage girls challenging traditional repression.  You can find Mustang in San Francisco and San Rafael, and it’s opening in San Jose on January 1.
  • Creed, the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise; it’s about the internal struggle of three people, not just The Big Fight.
  • The Irish romantic drama Brooklyn is an audience-pleaser with a superb performance by Saoirse Ronan.
  • Youth, a glorious cinematic meditation on life with Michael Caine.
  • Spotlight – a riveting, edge-of-your-seat drama with some especially compelling performances.
  • The Big Short – a supremely entertaining thriller – both funny and anger-provoking.

Here are ten more choices. There’s something for everyone.

  • Legend – a true-life story and the best crime drama of 2015. Tom Hardy plays both gangster twin brothers.
  • Carol – a vividly told tale of forbidden love.
  • Very Semi-Serious – a Must See documentary if you love the cartoons in The New Yorker. It’s showing on HBO.
  • Macbeth – an excellent new version of Shakespeare’s exploration of ambition. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star.
  • Hitchcock/Truffaut – a Must See for serious movie fans, this insightful documentary probes documentary Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work.
  • Chi-Raq: Spike Lee’s plea for inner city peace with justice, AND it’s a sex comedy.
  • Bridge of Spies – Steven Spielberg’s Cold War espionage thriller with Tom Hanks, featuring a fantastic performance by Mark Rylance.
  • Trumbo – the historical drama that reflects on the personal cost of principles.
  • Don Verdean – a dark satire on the faux scientists embraced by the Christian Right.
  • Spectre – action and vengeance from a determined James Bond.

Turner Classic Movies brings us the recently restored film noir Too Late for Tears on December 29.  On New Year’s Eve, TCM is presenting an entire day of the irresistible William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora in The Thin Man, After the Thin Man, Another Thin Man, Shadow of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home and Song of the Thin Man.

And on New Year’s Day, TCM is showing the superb proto-noir M (1931), Peter Lorre stars as a serial killer who preys on children. It’s a masterpiece by master director Fritz Lang (Metropolis), who later fled the Nazis to Hollywood and made several fine film noirs in the 50s. Lorre is compelling as a man plagued with a twisted compulsion. There’s no explicit violence, but you’ve never seen a more chilling solitary balloon. The city’s criminal underclass races with the police to hunt down the monster. The climax is a most unusual courtroom scene. If you’re going to see one pre-war European film – see this one.

Peter Lorre in M
Peter Lorre in M

And for the Holidays, here are movies from my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far that are available to stream or to rent on DVD:

      • The smartest road trip movie ever, The End of the Tour. It’s available streaming from Amazon Instant, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
      • The unforgettable coming of age dramedy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. It’s available streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play and now available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox.
      • The extraordinary Russian drama Leviathan, a searing indictment of society in post-Soviet Russia. Leviathan is available streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Flixster.
      • The hilariously dark Argentine comedy Wild Tales. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.
      • The Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy, the story of an extraordinarily gifted person’s escape from torment. Love & Mercy is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes and Vudu.
      • The gentle, thoughtful and altogether fresh dramedy I’ll See You In My Dreams with Blythe Danner, available to stream from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Movies to See Right Now

Michael Keaton in SPOTLIGHT
Michael Keaton in SPOTLIGHT

If you’ve been waiting all year for excellent cinema, you’re in luck.  This week, I have THIRTEEN recommendations, with four of them on my list of Best Movies of 2015:

  • Creed, the newest and entirely fresh chapter in the Rocky franchise; it’s about the internal struggle of three people, not just The Big Fight.
  • The Irish romantic drama Brooklyn is an audience-pleaser with a superb performance by Saoirse Ronan.
  • Spotlight – a riveting, edge-of-your-seat drama with some especially compelling performances;
  • The Martian – an entertaining Must See space adventure – even for folks who usually don’t enjoy science fiction; the DVD releases in early January, so it’s going to be hard to still find The Martian in theaters.

Here are nine more choices.  There’s something for everyone.

  • Legend – a true-life story and the best crime drama of 2015. Tom Hardy plays both gangster twin brothers.
  • Very Semi-Serious – a Must See documentary if you love the cartoons in The New Yorker. It’s showing on HBO.
  • Macbeth – an excellent new version of Shakespeare’s exploration of ambition.  Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star.
  • Hitchcock/Truffaut – a Must See for serious movie fans, this insightful documentary probes documentary Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work.
  • Chi-Raq: Spike Lee’s plea for inner city peace with justice AND a sex comedy.
  • Bridge of Spies – Steven Spielberg’s Cold War espionage thriller with Tom Hanks, featuring a fantastic performance by Mark Rylance.
  • Trumbo – the historical drama that reflects on the personal cost of principles.
  • Don Verdean – a dark satire on the faux scientists embraced by the Christian Right.
  • Spectre – action and vengeance from a determined James Bond.

Getting Biblical just in time for Christmas, on December 23 Turner Classic Movies is broadcasting the 1959 sand-and-sandal classic Ben-Hur, adapted from the novel Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ. Its star Charlton Heston was advised by the stunt supervisor, “Don’t worry, Chuck. Just stay in the chariot and I’ll make sure you win the race.”

And for the Holidays, here are movies from my Best Movies of 2015 – So Far that are available to stream or to rent on DVD:

      • The smartest road trip movie ever, The End of the Tour. It’s available streaming from Amazon Instant, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
      • The unforgettable coming of age dramedy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. It’s available streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play and now available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox.
      • The extraordinary Russian drama Leviathan, a searing indictment of society in post-Soviet Russia. Leviathan is available streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Flixster.
      • The hilariously dark Argentine comedy Wild Tales. It’s available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.
      • The Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy, the story of an extraordinarily gifted person’s escape from torment. Love & Mercy is available on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes and Vudu.
      • The gentle, thoughtful and altogether fresh dramedy I’ll See You In My Dreams with Blythe Danner, available to stream from Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Bryan Cranston in TRUMBO
Bryan Cranston in TRUMBO

MACBETH: Shakespeare’s study of ambition, more medieval, more psychological and sexier

Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender in MACBETH
Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender in MACBETH

Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star in Justin Kurzeil’s take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth – sexier and more psychological than most versions and very medieval.

In interviews, Fassbender has said that his Macbeth suffers from  battlefield PTSD.   As we see in this version of Macbeth, medieval warfare consisted of muddy guys rushing each other to hack, stab and bludgeon each other to death.  Mostly, it seems, to hack.  The soldiers wear facial warpaint that looks like it would if smeared on by men just before a battle.

Macbeth comes already damaged.  Unlike Richard III, a Shakespearean villain who is just deliciously evil to the core, Macbeth is troubled, a man whose “dreams abuse the curtain of sleep.”  But, as he is haunted by his own atrocities (especially killing his most loyal friend Banquo after Macbeth has already obtained the crown), Macbeth decompensates.

Lady Macbeth is the prototype of social climbers and strivers, pushing her hubbie to the forefront no matter the requisite carnage.  Cotillard’s Lady Macbeth uses sex to persuade him on a course of action, and he exhales a post-orgasmic “settled” in agreement with her plot.  After all, what’s sexier than power?  Hearing Macbeth’s “I have done the deed” gets Lady Macbeth breathing really hard.

Both of them have fits in which they wander the windswept highlands in their sleepwear.  Even with her over-the-top ruthlessness,  Lady Macbeth starts out more stable and functional, trying valiantly to distract the court from gauging Macbeth’s ever more tottering sanity.  But finally, the totality of their misdeeds becomes too heavy for even her to bear.  Fassbender and Cotillard are excellent.  So are Paddy Considine as Banquo and Sean Harris as Macduff.

All of the classic Macbethisms are here – “the be all and end all”, “out, damn spot!”, “unsex me here”, “the poisoned chalice” and “vaulting ambition”.  That last term – the central subject of Macbeth – is a marvel of precision because ambition requires one to vault over and past other people.  Ruthlessness is acting without or despite empathy for others.  Those who are not sociopaths can be haunted by their own vaulting acts of ruthlessness.  Kurzeil asks us to make that assessment of the two lead characters.

I really like Shakespeare movies because there are ways to advance Shakepeare’s stories that you just can’t do on stage.  Realistic medieval filth is one.  Large battle scenes, partially in slow motion is another.  And Macbeth and Banquo are able to quietly reflect on their foretold futures while bedding down on the battlefield, not while pacing the stage and speaking loud enough for a live audience to hear.  The soundtrack is filled with reedy drones that evoke bagpipes and covey dread and moral bleakness. (See my Best Shakespeare Movies – I’ll be adding this movie to that list.)

In just his second feature, Australian director Justin Kurzeil consistently make superb choices. Instead of novelties, the witches are spooky and mostly silent witnesses to the story; when Macbeth’s fortune is complete, they turn silently and melt away. I prefer the traditional way that Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Castle over Kurzeil’s solution, but’s that’s just me.  The final shots are wholly original and leave us with a remind of the historical consequences yet to come.

Kurzeil’s Macbeth is well-crafted and thought-provoking, and one of the very best Shakespeare movies.

 

Movies to See Right Now

Domhnall Gleeson in EX MACHINA
Domhnall Gleeson in EX MACHINA

The one MUST SEE in theaters is the intensely thoughtful Ex MachinaFar from the Madding Crowd, is a satisfying choice for those looking for a bodice ripper.  If you’re looking for a scare, try the inventive and non-gory horror gem It Follows.

Documentarian Alex Gibney now has TWO excellent films playing on HBO:

  • Going Clear: The Prison of Belief, a devastating expose of Scientology is playing on HBO; and
  • Sinatra: All or Nothing at All, an especially well-researched and revelatory biopic of Frank Sinatra.

Don’t bother with Clouds of Sils Maria – it’s a muddled mess. Insurgent, from the Divergent franchise is what it is – young adult sci-fi with some cool f/x. The romance 5 to 7 did NOT work for me, but I know smart women who enjoyed it. The biting Hollywood satire of Maps to the Stars wasn’t worth the disturbing story of a cursed family. I also didn’t like the Western Slow West, now out on video.

My DVD/Stream of the Week is a good movie with a GREAT ending, the French drama You Will Be My Son, available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon, Vudu, iTunes and Xbox Video.

So Bad It’s Fun Alert – on May 11, Turner Classic Movies is playing Hells Angels on Wheels (1967), an exploitation film with Jack Nicholson joining the Hells Angels. Shot on location in the Bay Area. Has a brief, credited cameo by the real life Sonny Barger, murderous chief of the Oakland Hells Angels.

If you’re ready for satisfying and timeless classic dramas, on May 12 TCM has programmed Treasure of Sierra Madre and The Best Years of Our Lives.

May 15 is Shakespeare Night on TCM. Don’t miss Orson Welles’ Shakespearean masterpiece: Chimes at Midnight. TCM is also playing Welles’ lesser Macbeth and Othello, along with Akira Kurosawa’s samurai version of MacBeth, Throne of Blood.

Orson Welles and Jeanne Moreau in CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT
Orson Welles and Jeanne Moreau in CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT

Best Shakespeare Movies

After suggesting Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet for Valentine’s Day and commenting on the current release Coriolanus, I decided to make a list of Best Shakespeare Movies.  You may be surprised at who makes my list – and who doesn’t.

Filmmakers have advantages not available to Shakespeare.  They can depict realistic combat in the battle scenes.  They can add sex and nudity to romance.  And they can enhance  Macbeth‘s witches and visions with trippy special effects.

The actor and director Kenneth Branagh is the best modern interpreter of Shakespeare (and shows up on this list three times).   Branagh gives us a Henry V that is not just a Dead White Guy, but a young and impulsive king, fueled more by personal ambition and testosterone than national interest.  Here is Branagh’s charismatic St. Crispin’s Day speech from his Henry V.