Joy C

I love this story, and I love the Coens, which is why I was so disappointed that this piece did not deliver. "Macbeth" is a story laden with blood, the supernatural, and madness. Passion. One of the fun things about "Macbeth" is how it lends itself to interpretation and re-imagining. In this re-telling, though, there is little passion, little drama, and many pointlessly bad choices. The direction seems to have been to deliver every line with a matter-of-factness that drains the language of emotion and poetry. (Macbeth's "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" soliloquy is delivered with as much emotion as a reading of the newspaper.) The black-and white German Expressionistic sets are just boring; the cold colorlessness of it all does nothing to reflect a piece steeped in blood. The minimization of the witches removes the entire question of whether Macbeth is a victim of pride and ambition, or a plaything in the hands of mercurial fate. The cast is a lineup of great talent, unfortunately very wasted.