The Tragedy of Macbeth (Joel Coen) [Apple/A24]

It’s impossible to deny the look of the thing. It’s all impressionistic sets, disarmingly unexpected perspectives and piercing close-ups. The framing of some scenes - including one where an entire room is used as a cauldron - is mesmerising. The film manages the unusual feat of being very stagey (there’s a claustrophobic nature to these minimalist locations that feel like they’ve fallen out of a giant theatre or even silent cinema) and totally cinematic all at once. Rarely in the modern era has Academy ratio felt quite so apt.

The performances are nearly universally great, albeit the brilliant Kathryn Hunter as the Weird Sisters is on a completely different level of intense, physical acting. Stephen Root also makes a spectacular, brief cameo.

There is a sense that this is an artistic exercise of sorts, more than anything. I mean, at the heart of it this is a very loyal - if pared back - Shakespeare adaptation. It’s also a little bloodless and sexless, given the material - not entirely so, but the formal precision maybe comes at the expense of a certain rawness. It’s a strong adaptation of obviously timeless and remarkable material, but maybe ultimately just feels like a curious aside in the Coen filmography.