Despite a few judicious cuts, the language is preserved and the story is, of course, the same: After the witches prophesize that Macbeth will become king, he decides, propelled by the tough-love urgings of his wife (“When you durst do it, THEN you were a man”) to hasten the process by murdering much-loved King Duncan (Brendan Gleeson, excellent).
Washington’s Macbeth, who often speaks in a soft voice — even a whisper — is racked with indecision beforehand. But what if we fail, he asks. “We fail?” his wife replies, but in McDormand’s reading, it’s essentially, “Look at us, what the heck do we have to lose?” (Don’t answer that, folks.)
And so the bloody cycle begins. This “Macbeth” is, as always, about politics, power, and the corrosive effects of ambition. It is not, however, about sociopaths. It feels more about mediocrity — and the desperation that brings — than monstrosity.
There’s much acting talent here beyond the leads. Corey Hawkins, a standout in pretty much anything he does, is a dashing presence as noble Macduff, who has the distinction of killing Macbeth (this swordfight doesn’t disappoint) once he apprises him that he was “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb — very bad news if you’re Macbeth. As Macduff’s doomed wife, Moses Ingram makes much of her one scene.
