“The Tragedy of Macbeth” Trailer: Joel Coen, Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand seek to set the screen on fire in Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” the upcoming Oscar-winning adaptation by the actor of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. The film marks a rare solo release for Joel Coen, who is often considered one of America’s greatest filmmakers, alongside his brother Ethan Coen. The duo won the Oscar for Best Director for “No Country for Old Men”. As moviegoers wait to see if “Macbeth” is a temporary hiatus for the brothers, the first trailer below suggests that Joel may just be fine on his own.

“The Macbeth Tragedy” is Joel’s sequel to “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” and brings Oscar winners Washington and McDormand together for the first time on screen. McDormand just won the Oscar earlier this year for Best Actress and Best Picture with “Nomadland,” and she could very well end up with another acting nomination for biting her teeth into Lady Macbeth. Washington plays the title role, while Corey Hawkins plays Macduff. The supporting cast includes Moses Ingram, Brendan Gleeson, Harry Melling and Ralph Ineson, among others.

“I think a really important thing about Joel’s adaptation is that we don’t call him ‘Macbeth’,” McDormand said in a discussion on Instagram Live last year. “We call it ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’, which I think is an important distinction. In Joel’s adaptation, we explore the age of the characters, and in our adaptation, the Macbeths are older. Denzel and I are both older than what is often interpreted as the Macbeths. We are in menopause, we are past the age of childbearing. So this puts pressure on their ambition to have the crown. I think the most important distinction is that this is their last chance at fame.

McDormand added that it was “very important” for her performance that Lady Macbeth never had a child. “But there have been many pregnancies and maybe children born who died either stillborn or very young,” she said. “I think it’s her personal tragedy that fuels her ambition to give the crown to her husband as she couldn’t give him an heir. For me, that’s the essence of the character.

A24 will release “The Tragedy of Macbeth” in theaters on December 25th. The drama will be available to stream on Apple TV + starting January 14, 2022. The film opens the New York Film Festival on September 24. Watch the official Shakespeare drama trailer in the video below.

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