Review of The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) by Issimic — 07 Feb 2022

The film the Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) had a multitude of both strengths and weaknesses, from the set to the actual character development. In terms of background set, a lot of the set felt undistinguished or empty.

The setting had a lot of potential to be well detailed, and that could have added to the story, but most of the set was either enveloped in fog, or large, empty rooms, which made it feel incredibly impersonal.

Some of the set was hard to distinguish at all, which took away from the story a little, as the set can dramatically impact the mood or tone of a scene in a variety of creative ways. However, with the set in mind, the lighting also had a rather interesting feel to it.

The play almost felt theatrical, with lighting in certain scenes that resembled something that felt as if it was on a stage. This is an artistic style some people most likely enjoy, especially given that Macbeth originated as a play, but it took away greatly from the movie aspect of the film.

Many films strive for a realistic element within them, and I feel the theatrical feel to the lighting pays tribute to the theatrical origins of the play, but also can be rather jarring to the viewers.

I also felt that another thing that felt as an aspect of the movie that seemed to take away from the play’s original meaning is that, while all of the characters were well portrayed in general, it felt like some of the characters’ relationships with one another were less prioritized than the character themself.

A lot of good characters in media are well developed due to their connection with other characters, and how their relationships allow them to develop. These kinds of inter-character relationships did not seem to be too present / too focused on in the Tragedy of Macbeth, when they could have been used to give the characters an even deeper realistic aspect to them.

Overall, I would give the Tragedy of Macbeth a C — while some of the effects within the movie brought it a unique style, the character relationships and the inconsistencies of the movie overall brought them down.