One of the wonderful things about this movie is that it uses simple scenes, combined with the rhythm of the drama, to show the audience the complete process of Macbeth’s character change. What’s more, if we think about it carefully, the film actually suggests the bloody consequences of betraying one’s conscience.The Tragedy of Macbeth”, in which Banquo and Macbeth are knighted, Macbeth gradually becomes convinced that all the witches’ prophecies will eventually come true. But in reality, he was more interested in justifying his endless greed. As he does not become the Crown Prince of Scotland, his resentment gradually takes root, and he writes to his wife about his victory, his reward, his encounter with the witches, and a series of other things. This also brings out the most crucial character of the film, Lady Macbeth.
The tragedy of Macbeth” in the Lady Macbeth, come, watch over the evil spirits of mortal minds. Remove my natural weakness, infuse me from head to toe with terrible brutality, thicken my blood, and stop remorse from rushing to my heart. No guilt in my nature could shake my fallen purpose, nor would it hinder my success.
Lady Macbeth is a representative of cruelty and treachery. Throughout the play, she pushes Macbeth to seize the throne and consolidate power through assassination, poisoning, frame-ups, and other machinations. The creepiest thing is that she understands all the reasons for doing good and evil, and understands all the arguments for right and wrong. She knows how to be a lady of principle, but also knows how to play a vicious and cunning schemer. All the acts she commits are not bewitched by profit, but willingly kneel under the evil deeds and become a pawn in the political struggle. This contradiction makes one wonder if perhaps Lady Macbeth is also a witch. He will not see the sun of tomorrow.
The film uses the feature of dramatic monologue to constantly intensify the simple moral contradictions, allowing people to observe the characters’ wavering hearts. First is Macbeth’s view: “King Duncan has been kind to me, he has rewarded me with land, proclaimed my title, and affirmed my honor. In politics he has done great good, and the people love him immensely; when I assassinate him, he should not fall into hell, but go into heaven”.
Next was the lady’s opinion: “My Sir, your face is like a book with many strange things written on it. To deceive people, you must become what people expect you to be; you must have the rhythm of popularity in your eyes, in your hands, and everywhere on the tip of your tongue; you must put on a look of an innocent flower, but in fact you are a viper under the flower.” Under such poeticized intrigue, the king is secretly assassinated, the prince is forced to flee Scotland, and Macbeth eventually ascends to the throne.
The prophecy is no longer the driving force of Macbeth’s life, but has instead become a burden to him. If the witches’ prophecies are true, then Macbeth will not last long on the throne and his heirs will not be able to continue the royal family’s legacy. Not only that, but the son of his good comrade Banquo will continue the royal line and become the future king of Scotland. This was unacceptable to Macbeth, and his infinite self-interest made him believe that the prophecy was true only when it benefited him, otherwise he had to do everything he could to break the magical constraint. Therefore, he began to plot even more frightening plans to strengthen the king’s power and remove the dissidents.
The first thing he does is to assassinate Banquo and his son. Macbeth took the opportunity of a banquet to turn two of Banquo’s men against him, so that they could set up an ambush and eliminate them. If Banquo and his son had died by the butcher’s knife, the witch’s prophecy would not have come true. However, perhaps it was the will of God that, by mistake, Banquo’s son escaped, which added another layer of gloom to Macbeth’s face.
The second thing that happened was to kill Macduff (Macduff). Macbeth sees the witch again and asks for more. he is promised three spells, one is to beware of Macduff. the second is that no one given life by a woman can harm Macbeth. The third was that he would only fall if Birnam Wood moved toward him. So Macbeth swept up Macduff’s castle on the grounds of his treason, but, again, by mistake, Macduff escaped the clutches of the fierce.
The logic of the story’s development reaches a point of conflict, and the film superimposes characters from different backgrounds, telling their fates one by one. Lady Macbeth, who has too much blood on her hands, is wrapped in guilt and lust for profit, and is eventually plagued by insomnia and dies of madness. Macduff united with Prince Malcolm and used England’s troops to attack Macbeth. They set the final battle in Birnam Wood, inadvertently overlapping Macbeth’s prophetic line.
Macduff in “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, Macbeth has been weakened by the rebellion, but his battle-hardened bravery is still there. Faced with the challenge of the English generals, Macbeth is so strong that perhaps the magic of the witches is still there, and no one who has been given life by a woman can harm him. As the battle raged on, Macduff stepped forward, born of a woman by Caesarean section and undaunted by the king’s prophecy. He is determined to take revenge and fight to the death with the king, who is on his deathbed. The film is cleverly set up at this stage, from the observation of the two men fighting, Macduff’s skills are not as good as Macbeth, but he inadvertently knocked Macbeth’s crown away, and when he turned back to pick it up, Macduff ended his life.
This black tragedy finally ends, and the film’s narrative comes to an abrupt end. The plot brings us much more than that. In addition to the exciting dramatic elements, the presence of witches also makes us wonder. Perhaps it is not magic that they perform, but rather to lure us into one extreme of interest after another. Macbeth’s way of doing things will inevitably lead to his annihilation in history, but in reality, such people are still in the minority.
