Of course Macbeth is a Coen brothers movie. The Scottish play is essentially a caper: A criminal plot is hatched and executed, kind of like in Raising Arizona or Fargo. As in The Ladykillers criminally overlooked, by way the conspiracy goes off without a hitch just before the midpoint of the action, after which the pitiless hand of cosmic justice initiates a long and bloody rebalancing.
Joel Coen’s pared down approach to Macbeth can at times feel a bit bloodless, but its bare black-and-white artistry brings out feeling in unexpected ways.
Film-making a murderer: Gillian Wallace Horvat in I Blame Society
âIâve been trying to get a feature made since my short film Kiss Kiss Fingerbang won at South by Southwest in 2015,â says Wallace Horvat. âI would say maybe even before that, but not with many realistic expectations. I did think that after that win there was going to be more of a clear path. As in: âOh, she won at South by Southwest; maybe we should look at her stuff the way that we look at stuff from some guy that hasnât done anything yet.â I was surprised when things didnât quite happen that way.â