The Tragedy of Macbeth Ending: Everything you should know!
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a 2021 American historical thriller film written and directed by Joel Coen and based on the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. It is the first film directed by one of the Coen brothers without the involvement of the other.
The film starred Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassel, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling, and Brendan Gleeson. It had its world premiere at the 2021 New York Film Festival on September 24, 2021.
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It had a limited theatrical release by A24 on December 25, 2021, before streaming on Apple TV+ on January 14, 2022. The film received critical acclaim. With major praise for Coen’s screenplay and direction, the cast’s performances, and its cinematography.
The Tragedy of Macbeth Ending Explained: What happens with Macbeth?
While there are many literary themes going on throughout the play, there are some who think that the major theme of Macbeth is simple: bad things happen when you try to kill the king.
The play was written only a few months after The Gunpowder Plot was revealed. Shakespeare was certainly aware of that event and may have influenced his sponsor to write a play emphasizing that the plot against the king was too bad for the conspirators.
Another major overarching theme of Macbeth is that bad things happen when one’s ambition to succeed is allowed to run rampant, as Macbeth’s hunger for power corrupts him.
Loyalty is another topic; While Macbeth’s loyalty earned him a promotion early in the play, he eventually becomes the most treacherous character in the play! However, Macduff, a foil to Macbeth, remains loyal to Malcolm until the very end; He doesn’t want to be the king.
There is one remaining thread that has not been resolved: that of Flens, Banquo’s son, who was able to escape from his father’s killers. The witches predicted that Banquo would “receive” the kings, who would be patriarchs in a line of rulers, though not becoming rulers themselves.
Whether this will happen or not is not clear. Malcolm is a direct descendant of King Duncan. There was an actual Banquo, and King James I was believed to be his descendant,
So perhaps Shakespeare left the status of Banquo’s descendants unclear to please his patron.
After Macbeth’s severed head is quickly handed over to the king, everyone around shouts “Hail, King of Scotland.”
We know: this is what the witches told Macbeth at the beginning of the play, just before all hell broke loose. In fact, the witches say “hail” to Macbeth at least ten times, making that word aloud and creepy resonance by the time they’re done with it.
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We can’t help but wonder whether Malcolm, who is enthusiastically “acclaimed” as King of Scotland, would be a good ruler or if he proves to be just as oppressive as Macbeth.
Like those films, it also featured McDormand as a shadowy woman named Lady Macbeth. She is married to Macbeth of Washington, Thane of Glamis. As the casting indicates, this couple is older than Bard’s imagination, which alters the perception of his motivations.
Youthful ambition has given way to something else; Perhaps the couple is too conscious of all those yesterdays that “light up the fools / The dusty road to death.”
In the Q&A after the film’s free IMAX screening, McDormand mentioned that she wanted to portray Macbeth as a couple who chose not to have children early and were fine with the choice.
This description makes the murder of Macduff’s son all the more heartless and brutal, an act Coen treats with restraint but doesn’t shy away from depicting.
