#(breaking kayfabe: I’m hyperfixated on Macbeth rn ok)

[gingerhastoomanyobsessions]

not to post like it’s still 2022 but how did nobody notice that goncharov was a Macbeth adaptation???

like. we’ve got our troubled protag (macbeth/goncharov) whose ambitious wife (lady mac/katya) pressures him into clawing his way to the top of a violent power structure (scotland’s monarchy/the italian mafia). he ends up ordering the death of a former friend because said friend realizes what he’s done (sending assassins after banquo/sending ice pick joe after mario, but the latter has more emotional depth since joe and mario were friends). valery takes on the role of the witches by supplying goncharov with ominous warnings and hinting that all is preordained as he tries to bring goncharov to justice. in reaction, goncharov attempts to destroy potential threats (sending ice pick after andrey and sofia, who survive because of joe’s failure to go through with it and subsequent death in the church scene), paralleling the assassination of the macduff family. it’s also when we get that sweet gunfight amid the historical ruins, but that’s not important rn. when katya learns that goncharov tried to have sofia killed, she breaks down and tries to shoot him on the bridge scene (“if you loved me you wouldn’t have missed” etc etc) before almost throwing herself over the edge, bringing to mind lady macbeth’s mental collapse and subsequent suicide. instead of birnam wood coming to dunsinane, we get the boat scene. when goncharov asked valery why he was so determined to bring him back to russia to be prosecuted instead of just killing him, valery told goncharov “you’re untouchable so long as you’re on Italian soil” and the boat isn’t technically on Italian soil. andrey and goncharov have their stand-off at the ship’s wheel, symbolizing their fight for control over the system. meanwhile, sofia and katya make their escape, getting the chance to survive and leave the system of violence that killed their shakespearean counterparts. goncharov doesn’t know that katya is still alive, so his speech winding up his pocketwatch when he’s talking about how her time ran out and how nothing could stop the clocks? that was his “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” moment! when andrey shoots goncharov and DOESN’T MISS, it’s not just gay, it’s his “man of no woman born” parallel. he managed to do what nobody else could. but this movie has no malcolm character to bring the system back to normal and take the throne/lead the mafia. it’s just andrey at the wheel. and the deafening ticking of goncharov’s pocketwatch, laying face-open in the pool of blood, before it runs out of time and winds down for good.