Was Joel Coen’s ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ Rejected By Venice?

Now that the cat’s out of the bag, I can finally mention that the reason why Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” was not at Venice, and that I wasn’t including it in my predictions all these weeks, was due to the fact that it was rejected by the Venezia selection committee.

This would better explain why the New York Film Festival jumped the gun a few weeks ago and announced they nabbed the world premiere of ‘Macbeth.’ Sloppy seconds? It could be more nuanced than that. There could be an American-European divide with this movie or it could just be politics.

Venice rejecting ‘Macbeth,’ but more importantly Coen, has some significance. You don’t just say no to one of great living directors out there. Venice boss Albert Barbera’s decision not to include Coen has some significance, especially in a year where many of the big name directors are skipping Venice (Del Toro, PTA, Eastwood, McKay, Spielberg). You’d think, despite not necessarily being fans of the film, Venice would still take the Coen. They were also lukewarm on Andrew Dominik’s “Blonde” but ready to have it in competition before Netflix finally pulled the plug on it. So, maybe there’s politics at play here as Venice may still be bitter about A24 not bringing “Uncut Gems” and “First Cow” at Venice in 2019.

I’ve spoken to someone in New York who has seen Coen’s film and says he’s dumbfounded by the Venice rejection:

“It’s a beautifully morose and kooky film. The black & white from Roger Deakins is stunning and the whole thing plays like a German expressionist version of Shakespeare’s play. Most of the dialogue sticks to the Bard’s words, so there is only so much room to manoeuvre here, at least in terms of Coen’s ability to reinterpret the play. Oddly enough, I do not like Robert Eggers or The Lighthouse but that’s the most similar movie I can think of that matches the tone in “The Tragedy of Macbeth”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Roger Deakins did not photograph the movie, Bruno Delbonnel did.

Coen’s upcoming “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” stars Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. The film is set to open the 59th New York Film Festival on September 24th.