Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth is a triumph of visual storytelling. Starring Denzel Washington as the titular antihero, the faithful but fresh adaptation enlivens the timeless tale for new audiences and scholars of the Bard alike.

Eschewing any modernist notion to present Shakespeare’s text through a contemporary filter, Coen sticks to the original play in all its Elizabethan grandeur. But if your last exposure to such phrasing as, “When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?” was in high school, worry not: You don’t need SparkNotes to enjoy The Tragedy of Macbeth. Coen’s adroit cinematography and set design complement each scene, telling the story in tandem with the actors, and it is visually mesmerizing.