TV Review: The Tragedy of Macbeth Shows Power Is Mentally Messy
Watching The Tragedy of Macbeth, I was riveted by one of its core messages. Power will F**K UP YOUR MENTAL HEALTH! Maybe, because, most of my life, I’ve never had power, I don’t know the feeling. Sure, I have had empowerment, and power over my actions and reactions to situations. Yet, Macbeth, at its core, is the story of royal rule, similar to social or corporate power, and the ability to redefine people’s livelihoods and worlds by the masses. Directed by Joel Coen, and out on Apple TV Plus on January 14, the creepy black and white film asks a very grey question: “Can you handle the power you want?”
I have always said that powerful people, usually, aim to control others because they cannot control themselves. It is a master deflection; why do I have to grow better when I can, literally, stop you from growing, at all? Yet, what is fascinating about this almost supernatural, Shakespearean take is the presumption that you can handle controlling others without controlling yourself. Fun Fact! Most dictators, suffer from OCD, narcissism, paranoia, schizophrenia, and/ or antisocial, sadistic tendencies. Believe it or not…. Hitler suffered from depression. These are the weird, mental health truths that we do not associate with power, especially if is evil. Yet, Coen questions how people hold on to their minds when their sole thought was how to hold everything outside of it like, a kingdom.
Visually stunning, the film feels like a very fancy version of Paranormal Activity; one door creeks and you fully expect to see a demon pop out but it is, in fact, a door that slightly opened. Although Kathryn Hunter as the Three Witches could certainly pop up on a Conjuring sequel to terrify me, it is Coen’s ability to make the ambiance, in look and feel, totally vibe with Macbeth’s inner turmoil that proves, in some way, we manifest our surroundings according to how we move in them. Denzel Washington moves like the calmest tsunami to totally evaporate your village. He is so chill that you could be fooled into believing he is meek and warm. Yet, that is the thing about insanity, particularly mad kings, they look oddly serene while being a walking crisis. Washington is perfect as a man determined to be as powerful as a king while having the neurosis levels of a chicken walking a little too close to the slaughterhouse. Yet, Lady Macbeth is not, exactly, putting sage sticks and meditation chants either.
What I LOVED about Frances McDormand’s Lady Macbeth is that she totally alters the typical view of her as a “cunning woman.” Often, Lady Macbeth is seen as the real villain; a woman that seduced her unwitting husband into betraying his king only to lose her mind when they were just about to win the game. Yet, Coen and Washington make Macbeth the one determined to be on top, and Lady Macbeth the one smart enough to see how he could do it, but does not have the heart. In essence, how you feel about yourself and what you do matters in how you handle what you gain. She is 100% the person that could fully plan a bank heist, the escape, and how the money can be appropriately allotted to last them for the rest of their lives in a nice, Costa Rican mansion. Yet, that is not her: the guilt of knowing she committed a sin to get to her victory would make her lose it all….. and it does.
Washington and McDormand make Macbeth and his lady two sides of the same, crazy coin. These are two people that can think about power, and even their way to it, but lose their mind because they do not feel powerful or empowered. They are too scared of the world to actually conquer it, which might explain why dictators never last. Eventually, the world sees you were not scary…. you were just scared.
