The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
Via Apple.
The cast is wonderful, the filming is fabulous, and I love it very much. This might be my favourite Macbeth.
The weird sisters:
- First appearance:
- The first speech is just narration to a black screen… until suddenly it’s a cloudy sky, with three birds circling, and then it’s NOT the sky but sandy ground.
- Brief interlude to Duncan hearing about the battle, and then back to the witches…
- Except it’s not a trio: it’s one woman, a contortionist with an amazing voice and honestly she’s the most terrifying witch I’ve seen yet.
- She seems to be on the battlefield, and she squawks like a crow – the symbolism is glorious.
- And when she speaks to Macbeth, she’s in front of a pool of water – with two versions of her reflected. And her voice is echoed to sound like more than one person…
- And then her two reflections leave the pool and come to stand next to her!
- Second appearance:
- Three figures in the ceiling, looking down at Macbeth – he hasn’t had to go looking for them.
- There are multiple voices, but only one face.
- “Double, double” is put here, as a way of calling the witch’s master. All ingredients thrown into a pool of water that’s in the castle.
- The emphasis on “no more” was some ominous foreshadowing.
Macbeth:
- First appearance: walking out of the sun, into our view: that’s a symbol. In appropriately worn medieval-ish battle dress
- Second appearance: There’s love for Lady Macbeth, but it’s more restrained than in some other versions. Possibly because they’re much older?
- I think this is my favourite version of the “he’s here in double trust” speech. Washington isn’t a coward, he’s being rational and thinking it all through.
- I like Washington’s thoughtfulness as Macbeth. I do think it’s about age; he would be much less convincing as an impetuous, ambitious man. Which is not to say that he is emotionless: his anger at the idea that Fleance might be the reason he has soiled his soul is real.
- Macbeth seeing Banquo, post-death, is preceded by a crow flapping down the hall… and then when he is fighting Banquo, it turns out to be a crow. Like the crow the witches appeared to turn into at the start….
- Unravelling terribly as the English army approaches.
- He’s so tired by the time the English arrive. And resigned to fate. The way he hears that Macduff was untimely rip’d… again, I think it’s age.
Lady Macbeth:
- First appearance: Long pale dress walking down a long, bright corridor. Hair is a crown.
- Her use of fainting is beautifully timed.
- As queen: she is now in a dark dress, beautifully embroidered. Hair still up in a crown, with an actual crown added to it.
- After the Banquo hallucination, she gives Macbeth a cup of wine and adds a drop of… something… and then the next thing we know, it’s “Tomorrow” and Macbeth wakes up and sees the witches. So… playing into Lady M as a witch herself…
- And then when she comes in to him, her hair is in a rough plait and very messy.
- We actually see her once more, briefly, just before the army arrives – and Ross sees her too, and approaches her… menacingly…
Bean there, Done that: The Island (2005)
I might have seen this twice? Maybe I saw it at the cinema? I have no clear recollection. Unlike Ronin, though, I know I have seem it.
- It has such a spectacular opening: the idyllic boat ride, the terrifying maybe-drowning, waking up in the whiteness of the bed… also, Ewan and Scarlett. SO hot in 2005… and also in 2025.
- I had forgotten this was a Michael Bay! Lots of blue already.
- Michael Clarke Duncan!
- And THERE’S Bean: Dr Merrick. Maybe a psych? Certainly a top person. And Lincoln knows that needing to see him means there’s something wrong…
- I adore his office. The art, the architecture, the desk-as-screen.
- His glasses are amazing – so early 21st century: frameless, rectangular.
- Slicked back hair, short of course.
- McGregor’s accent is very confused.
- (Steve Buscemi!)
- A pod with “Merrick something” on it, with a human inside… so Dr Merrick is the person in charge then. And thus we discover that the facility is making humans, and the whole “surviving a catastrophe” thing is a lie.
- The xbox boxing arena is terrifying.
- Bean sitting in his room, alone, to watch the Lottery: fireplace, high ceilings, very different from the rest of the place.
- McGregor gets to the area he’s not meant to be in… and then Bean sees him on the security footage and loses his nut.
- Bean does coldly furious very nicely.
- Finally realised who Jones Three Echo is: Neelix, from Star Trek: Voyager.
- Bean selling his product to rich people: the ability to grow a body that will provide organs, and promising that all bodies are vegetative, rather than aware.
- But apparently without living, the organs fail. Which… seems unlikely, but it’s a good story.
- (Djimon Hounsou! Oh. Except he’s a bit evil. Well, a security consultant anyway.)
- Hearing the original Tom Lincoln with Ewan M’s actual accent is wild.
- Bean announces that because of the defect – developing curiosity – four product lines are going to be… eliminated.
- And then he shows that he has a god complex, and that he has convinced himself his ‘products’ have no souls.
- (Dijon Hounsou comes good!)
- Bean actually gets his hands dirty, going after Lincoln with a gun! Fisticuffs ensue.
- Also his hair gets mussed.
- And then he dies because their fight means he ends up hanged.
- Everyone gets out, and now there’s going to be a terrible problem with famous people having clones hanging around, plus they all need to be taught how to live in the world… but that’s not the problem of this film.
- Thing I just realised: I know it’s a completely different situation, but there’s definitely a similarity between this and Severance. Innies and outies.
Verdict: Corporate villain. Even the starting point of his journey – wanting to provide organs for rich people so they can live longer – is grotesque: there’s no suggestion that he starts from a particularly altruistic position. And then willingly keeping conscious humans in prison for his own greed? Evil.
Movies: 5. Beans dead: 4.
Bean there, done that: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Takes a while to get to Boromir, but that’s ok. We know he’s on the way. Just need to get through the birthday party (not my favourite part of the story), the events in Bree, and the disaster at Weathertop. And THEN we get to Rivendell, and the Council of Elrond.
- Boromir’s entrance is glorious: hair flowing, shield on back, horse looking epic. The very picture of a warrior.
- The hair doesn’t look too bad: not as long as in Patriot Games, at least. And it suits the pseudo-medieval feel of the world.
- Boromir goes wandering, admiring art, meets Aragon… and realises who Aragorn is.
- Already we see some of Boromir’s trouble; ambition, a desire to be great, feeling overwhelmed by someone he thinks could be greater than him.
- Bean does stately very well – relating his dream, arguing with Gandalf from the point of view that he understands.
- And then Boromir gets spiteful: Gondor needs no king.
- “One does not simply walk into Mordor” – Boromir gets some of the great meme-worthy lines.
- Boromir shows his worth in accepting the decision of the Council. (Going just from the movie) I see no reason to suggest, from how this part is portrayed, that Boromir has any thought of treachery in this moment. He is committed to following what the others have decided. Partly to make sure Gondor get in on the honour, to be sure, but that’s understandable and not evil in itself.
- I really enjoy the ‘teaching the hobbits to fight’ scene. It’s about the most human Boromir gets to be, rather than the stuffed-shirt warrior – and shows us his connection to Merry and Pippin early on.
- Picking up the ring in the snow: poor Boromir. He’s far more fallible than he wants to be. (Also Bean plays this scene really nicely.)
- “This is no mine; it’s a tomb” – another great line.
- Nobody can doubt Boromir’s courage, with the way he goes wading into the pool to fight the basically-a-kraken.
- And again – as in the snow on Caradhas – Boromir takes care of Merry and Pippin.
- “They have a cave troll” – ngl, always love this moment. Every time.
- Again, in this fight Boromir shows his true worth; he is a skilled and fierce warrior.
- And again: crossing the broken stairs, Boromir jumps with Merry and Pippin.
- I knew all of these moments but I had never really put them together before. It’s quite lovely, actually.
- (Dwarves should be spoken to about the concept of balustrades, though.)
- It’s Boromir who holds Frodo back when Gandalf is about to fall – which makes sense: he’s probably the least connected to Gandalf of any of the Fellowship.
- When everyone is having a weep, Boromir comforts Gimli. And when Aragorn is being a tough leader, Boromir is the one who pleads to let them have a moment, “for pity’s sake.”
- Boromir’s gentle words to Frodo, about not carrying he weight of the dead, are revealing of who he could have been, with more encouragement.
- Ah Lothlorien. Poor Boromir’s background gives him no way of dealing with so many elves at once, and certainly not the power and majesty of Galadriel.
- What makes Boromir distraught is also revealing – the fear that Gondor is failing, that his father’s strength is failing, and what that will mean for his people and his city.
- And for just a moment, Boromir acknowledges Aragorn as king, and that his return to the city will be exactly what they need.
- Bean plays distraught well.
- I have never noticed that Boromir doesn’t get a special gift (aside from a cloak) from Galadriel.
- Boromir’s boat has Merry and Pippin in it.
- I don’t blame Boromir for trying to convince Aragorn to go via Gondor. He has so much faith in the strength of his people, and it blinds him to alternatives – and to Gondor’s failings.
- I like that Boromir is collecting firewood – he’s not too proud to do menial work.
- “You are not yourself” – this is the key, and Frodo knows it: the ring is using Boromir’s best qualities and twisting them.
- Bean plays the changing emotions in this section beautifully.
- And Boromir gets one glorious last stand. Protecting Merry and Pippin.
- He does a marvellous death scene, Bean.
- Boromir and Aragorn’s last scene is a beautiful one. It’s a cliche, the deathbed clarity, but I don’t care: “I would have followed you, my brother, my captain, my king.”
- Farewell Boromir, over the Falls of Rauros you go.
Verdict: A valiant warrior, let down by his upbringing (OK, so I know that from the rest of the trilogy, whatever) and ultimately susceptible to the ring precisely because he wants to bring glory and honour to his city-state and can’t see the broader picture.
Movies: 4. Beans dead: 3.
Bean there, done that: Ronin (1998)
I have absolutely no idea when I watched this film. I wouldn’t have seen it at the cinema, so it will have been at home sometime… something like two decades ago??
So, it’s a heist…
- Sean Bean is Spence, one of the men employed to retrieve a case.
- He seems to be ex-military, and calls himself “a weapons man.” Pretty sure that’s not an innuendo. At least, not in this context.
- (It’s a pretty great cast: I am indifferent towards De Niro, myself, but that’s a very young Stellan Skarsgard, and I often love Jean Reno. I recognise Natascha McElhone but I have no idea from where. And
Elliot CarverJonathan Pryce. ) - He’s English, and has short hair again (I approve). He’s also super nervy, and likes to big-note himself.
- Suddenly Spence is taking over the gun-buying operation? And he’s very jumpy. This seems like a very bad idea.
- It was. Sniper on the bridge, everybody shooting… Spence is very cranky. Absolutely no self-control.
- And then, when they’re back in the car, he’s manic: pleased and excited way out of proportion.
- And then he vomits. Is he high?
- I had completely forgotten how epic the driving is in this film. I know it’s what the film is known for, but knowing is different from seeing.
- Spence then tries to take over the briefing… but Sam / De Niro calls him, and there’s a scuffle, out of which Spence looks very poor. It’s beginning to sound like Spence isn’t the military man he claims to be.
- And so he is let go. With a stark warning about needing to forget the people he was working for.
- Wait, is that the end of Sean Bean in this film??
Oh well. Bean has left the building.
Continue reading →Bean there, done that 2: GoldenEye (1995)
I am well known for being a sucker for James Bond. But this post will be about Alec Trevelyan, I SWEAR.
Having said that, the opening shot – rappelling down a dam wall – is SPECTACULAR.
- The introduction of Alec, as 006 and speaking Russian and interacting with Bond, is glorious.
- And once again, Bean is proficient with weapons. There’s a lot of shooting.
- We’re back to an English accent, and a pretty posh one at that.
- Also, short hair. A much better look.
- Alec wanting to be all noble and self-sacrificial… and getting his way, as he gets shot by the Russian officer.
- “For England!” – what a difference from Patriot Games.
- (It’s a good thing James Bond lives in an alternate universe where gravity works differently, is all I’ll say about the conclusion to the prologue. Also, Tina Turner’s song is one of the great Bond themes… written by Bono and The Edge??)
- NINE YEARS LATER…
- (Famke Janssen deserved better. As did basically every other woman in the Bond franchise, I know. But this is from 1995 and it feels like it’s 1975. Urgh.)
- (Alan Cummings is hilarious, and provides one of my favourite lines.)
- We go for quite a long period without seeing Bean again, for all that he’s listed at the top of the film as “starring”.
- (Eeee Dame Judi! She is absolutely one of the key reasons for why the franchise was able to transition to the 21st century. She’s only 60 in this film.)
- (Eee Desmond Llewelyn. *Hearts* – he’s 80 in this film.)
- (And Robbie Coltrane! … such a good cast.)
- And then BOOM: “hello James” – Alec is back, this time with a scarred face, and is the terrifying arms dealer, Janus, whom Bond has been searching for.
- Turns out he’s the son of Lienz Cossacks who were betrayed by the British and then died in a murder/suicide; he has been planning for betrayal for years.
- His posh accent is glorious in this context.
- Long tank/car chase and we’re finally back to Alec, on a very fancy train (whoa, Snowpiercer connection!).
- Alec forces his attentions on Natalya, cementing his position as a villain.
- Bean rocks a suit very well.
- Seems that Alec is driven more by money than any philosophy or political ideology.
- And then we’re off to Cuba.
- Alec has a surprisingly sophisticated set-up for a secret base.
- He’s far more suave than the Sean of Patriot Games – which is no surprise, given their respective backgrounds.
- Oh and he’s targeting London? How original. And he’s going to steal all the money from the Bank of England and then wipe all the records via his EMP? uhuh.
- Villains should know better than to monologue when they have their enemy in their sights.
- Alec falls off the antenna structure; Bond catches his foot, and then lets him fall, in a nice(?) echo of the opening scene (rappelling down the dam wall).
- And despite landing on his back from a very great height, what actually kills Alec is the antenna falling on him.
Verdict: Unquestionably A Bad Guy. (He’s presumably been a useful 00 agent for MI6 before his betrayal of the organisation, but he ends his life as an immoral arms dealer and bank robber who is happy to create chaos for money.)
Movies: 2. Beans dead: 2
Bean there, done that: Patriot Games (1992)
I do adore a Jack Ryan movie (usually).
I love the way this film opens with talking about Russia (it’s 1992!!) – especially given The Hunt for the Red October – and then… BAIT AND SWITCH!
OK, this is going to focus on Sean Bean, I swear.
- I have no idea whether his Irish accent sounds real to the Irish ear, but it’s convincing enough to me.
- THE HAIR.
- Oops, Jack killed Sean’s younger brother. That’s not going to end well.
- How convenient that his character’s name is also Sean (Miller).
- He’s so young! (Huh; he’s 32 in this film, so… yeh ok, I’m old).
- Bean does angry very well.
- They didn’t make him cut his hair in jail? What sort of establishment is this??
- The blue and yellow jumpsuit does nothing good for Bean’s complexion.
- Although my, he is awfully skinny.
- He also does Terrifyingly Feral very well.
- [Eee, James Earl Jones!]
- He finally gets a haircut on the ship… I think it’s an improvement.
- It’s definitely an improvement. Little bit of a crewcut along the bottom of the head – not an undercut, far more military than that.
- [Eek, Samuel L Jackson! Had completely forgotten he was in this film. Also so young… about 43 years old…]
- Bean doesn’t really exhibit much range in this film: he’s angry, or upset, or frustrated, or… yeh that’s about all, actually.
- Movies just don’t do those fades between cut-scenes in the same way any more. More’s the shame.
- Yikes, disaffected IRA training in the desert… with vaguely Arabic types… oh, early 1990s, you were such a time.
- The conclusion feels rather cliched today – the royal at Jack’s house (as if), the navy buddy is there as well, the lights go out and the baddies make use of night vision (in the middle of a lightning storm, really?)… but I really like the speed boat chase: it may not look particularly realistic, but it is still pretty awesome. Also, over a lot faster than similar denouements in other, later, films.
- Bean’s death, impaled on a boat implement of some sort, is vicious.
Bean Verdict: Unquestionably A Bad Guy (slightly ameliorated by the dead brother aspect, but he was already involved in violence before that).
Movies: 1. Beans dead: 1.
Bean there, done that
It’s been a long time since we did a movie-a-thon, and I was suddenly struck by how much fun it would be to do a Sean Bean watch.
So here it is. Unashamedly, we have picked movies that we already know and love, but which we haven’t seen for ages (with two exceptions).
- Patriot Games
- GoldenEye
- Ronin
- The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring
- The Island
- The Martian
… I’m happy to take suggestions for other movies we should add (not TV, that’s a whole other thing). But you need to give me a good reason.
The Return
I am a complete sucker for Greek myth films. And even more, I am an utter sucker for films that take bits that have been done less often, and which do so with nuance and a modern sensibility while still keeping true to the original. Nearly impossible? For sure.
The Return manages this with aplomb.
(Spoilers, I guess? If you can spoil a 3000 year old story? Although there are some changes to the ‘original’, which I will discuss.)
The film doesn’t try to cover all of Odysseus’ wanderings – and Troy is covered in a single sentence in the brief introduction. Instead, it opens with Odysseus washed ashore on Ithaka, and Penelope besieged by the suitors. It really only covers a few days – exactly how long is unclear, because Odysseus may have spent a few days in Eummaeus’ cottage, recovering his strength. The narrative moves between several strands. There’s Odysseus, coming to understand what has happened to his island, and Penelope, often at her loom, agonising over what to do and how to look after her sons. Interestingly, there’s quite a focus on the suitors, especially Antinous (the least objectionable on the surface, but shown to be very complex and with a horrible side) and a couple of others, like Pisander (who I spent the whole film trying to place – he was Ricky September in that weird episode of Doctor Who, “Dot and Bubble”). And there’s also Telemachus… and, look. He’s never been a favourite. Ever. I was terrified we’d be subjected to a whole section of him going off and visiting Helen and Menelaus, but thankfully we’re spared that.
This is not an action film. There is action: suitors chasing Telemachus, a couple of fights, and a particularly brutal killing of the suitors. The film is far more interested in conversation, though: discussing what happened at Troy – and whether the Greeks were heroes or not; discussing what Penelope should do; discussing what Telemachus should do; mourning the events on Ithaka.
This is a film that takes Odysseus’ experiences at war seriously, and the reality that a decade of fighting will change a man – and that two decades away from his wife and son will change their relationship. It asks very honestly whether Odysseus can ever truly come home, and how his family can now relate to him. It does not paint Odysseus as a hero, nor laud his accomplishments at Troy. Overwhelmingly, he is tired. He mourns the last two decades; he is remorseful of some of his actions, and fears the future. He’s not yet bitter and angry but you can see it’s a possible outcome.
One of the really interesting changes is that of the “maids” – and I find this particularly intriguing in light of the discussion around them over the last few years, with Emily Wilson’s translation finally making it painfully clear that these women are slaves, not just servants. The choice is to make them almost absent. A few are shown sleeping with (literally and, er, metaphorically) some suitors, but that’s all: no sense of whether they are being compelled, and also no sense of whether all of the women shown are actually members of the household. I guess this is one way to avoid the ‘necessity’ of killing them all at the end.
This is a great film. I appreciate the way it takes Odysseus’ agony seriously. It doesn’t do quite as well with Penelope – it’s not particularly informed by Atwood’s Penelopiad or Claire North’s Songs of Penelope series – but it does give her some agency. Overall, it is an excellent entrant into the halls of Greek myth-inspired films.
Macbeth: the start of a project
I have loved the play ever since I encountered it. I have seen many versions since then – several on stage (a memorable one at Melbourne Uni, performed in the round, with costuming to make it classic leathers-n-chains punk gangs), and several on film. Now I embark on an endeavour to watch as many versions I can find…
It’s a lot about Lady Macbeth – she is so active and yet she’s not allowed to be powerful without being punished. I’m also fascinated by the way it portrays power. And then the text around it is fascinating too: the utter misuse of history that it represents (yo, English propaganda!); the way that aspects of Lord of the Rings (the Huorns going to the Hornburg/Ents going to Isengard, and the Witch King being killed by a hobbit and a woman) are apparently speaking to Tolkien’s annoyance with the play (the forest coming to Dunsinane; no man of woman born…) – and its many appearances in popular culture.
So: here go.
1971: Polanski / Finch.
The 1971 Polanski Macbeth is my ur-text for the play. We watched it in Year 11 English, and it has coloured my view of the play irrevocably. (This was 1995 and of course I had no idea of anything about Roman Polanski at the time.) Francesca Annis is what I most remember – even more than Jon Finch – because her Lady M was so fierce and then so completely undone.
The weird sisters:
- First appearance;
- Maiden/mother/crone styling.
- Entirely physical – no sense that they are magical
- The maiden flashes her genitals!
- Second appearance:
- A cave full of naked women, all contributing to the cauldron.
- Macbeth drinks their concoction and then has weird hallucinations. – it’s not clear whether they have done magic or just given him really trippy drugs.
Macbeth:
- You really don’t get a sense that Macbeth is very impressive at the start: we don’t see him fighting, just immediately confused by witches.
- He’s conflicted right from the start – even in front of his men. Distracted, rather than decisive.
- Malcolm and Macbeth suspicious of each other from the start.
- His haircut is doing him no favours.
- After the coronation, when he’s dealing with the murderers, is when Macbeth starts to show some determination (being bloody, bold, and resolute…).
- His behaviour is verging on manic.
- Macbeth dreams of Banquo and Fleance killing him, after he sends the murderers for them.
- By the time he’s told that the English and Malcolm are coming, he’s becoming cruel and rash.
Lady Macbeth:
- In the first shot, we marvel at the HAIR. And the CLEAN DRESS.
- She is excited to see Macbeth – and he to see her: they are shown to be in love.
- She suggests murder – to Macbeth’s complete surprise.
- Uses tears to manipulate Macbeth into assassination.
- She has a potion to hand already that will drug Duncan’s servants.
- She is already freaked out while Macbeth is doing the deed. And she never recovers the composure she had at the start.
- Lady Macbeth falls asleep doing embroidery – first sign that she does anything so ladylike. And she has her first hallucination of bloody palms: her behaviour is very distracted.
- Re-reading the first letter: hair in disarray, can’t read for tears.
- We do not see her fall, but hear the cry of the nurse at finding her.
Randomly Yours, Alex 