In The Macbeth Tragedy, Francis McDormand Suffocated Alongside Denzel Washington.
Key Sentence:
- Do you think the Macbeth tragedy wasn't fantastic at all?
Denzel Washington and Francis McDormand are right at the top of their game in this terrifying remake of the play William Shakespeare, written and directed by Joel Cohen (of Cohen Brothers fame, in his first theatrical performance without the Ethan brothers).
The play in which the New York Film Festival (which runs from Friday to October 10) pays homage to the likes from Orson Welles and Ingmar Bergman: Shot in black and white capture, an Oscar-worthy film that doesn't try to hide it is done almost exclusively on the soundstage. Full of castles, labyrinths, and misty Scottish swamps.
Francis McDormand talks about Nomadland's Oscar-winning catharsis, says stars had no idea he was acting.
Washington, from course, plays Macbeth, a weary general in the dark of his life she, at the urging from his wife, Lady Macbeth (McDormand), secretly plans to assassinate King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson) to take the Scottish throne. But with blood on his hands and more and more corpses, Macbeth immediately fell into fear and guilt and gradually went insane.
At 66, Washington is older than most actors who usually disguise themselves as Macbeth, adding new shades of hopelessness, anger, and the tortured character played on stage and screen by Patrick Stewart, Kenneth Branagh, and Michael Fassbender. McDormand, 64, is also Vulcan and finds unexpected tenderness and humor in the fiercely loyal Lady Macbeth, who knows deep down that Duncan's assassination is her last chance for power.
"There he is. This is the last tour (for him)," Washington told reporters on Friday afternoon before the film's world premiere that night. Q&A after screening. "
Cohen, McDormand, and co-stars Bertie Carwell, Moses Ingram, and Harry Melling join Washington during animated, sometimes emotional panels. At one point, McDormand said he thought Shakespeare would be "delighted" by the adaptation. A few minutes later, his phone was switched off during the call. "Is that Willie (Shakespeare) on the phone?" Washington laughed as McDormand pulled an older adult's cell phone from her purse.