The Man Who Wasn't There
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Movie Reviews of The Man Who Wasn't There
Movie Review: A Masterpiece.
Summary: 5 Stars
Have the Cohen brothers ever made a bad film? Never. Each and every one of their films is outstanding and each of the them have somethign new to offer. "The Man Who Wasent There" is pure Film Noir. I cannot imagine seeing this film in color...black and white is the way to go!Billy Bob is brilliant in this film. He has very few scene specific dialogues, majority of his lines are narrative. Frances McDormand, who plays Billy Bob's wife, also gives a memorable performance. Contradictory to Billy Bob's charactor, who is a lonesome serious man who seems content with letting life pass right by him, McDormand is this sultry schemestress who under bizzarr circumstances gets caught up in dangerous circumstances. James Gandolfini, Tony Shalhoub, Michael Badalucco, Jon Polito and Scarlett Johansson play their parts to perfection as supporting actors.
The plot of this film is not too complex but has great philosophycal depth to it. The story revolves around themes like revenge and bad choices. (I feel this is all you need to know...anything more will ruin it for you). There is an air of surrealism thought the film and the use of light and space is very innovative. The cinematography is par excillence and the movi is a visual treat....think "Blood Simple" in black in white...you will get a fair idea what this masterpiece is all about.
Movie Review: "I was a ghost. I didn't see anyone. No one saw me. I was the barber.",
Summary: 5 Stars
Set in 1950, the Coen brothers' THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (USA/UK-2001) is a modern film that comes as close to classic noir as any ever made.
Featuring subdued narration by the main character and inventively shadowed cinematography with many unusual angles and forced perspective, this is the story of a town barber (Billy Bob Thornton), a normally quiet man who murders in self-defense when his act of revenge, an anonymous blackmail scheme, goes awry and the victim (James Gandolfini) learns his identity.
A superb cast includes Frances McDormand as Billy Bob's cheating wife, Tony Shaloub playing the high-priced lawyer who is unable to defend her when she's wrongly charged with Gandolfini's murder, Michael Badalucco as the chatty owner of the barbershop where Thornton works, Jon Polito as a dry cleaning scam artist who inadvertantly sets the blackmail in motion by tempting Thornton to invest 10K, and Scarlett Johansson as a teen amateur pianist that Billy Bob unsuccessfully tries to mentor.
Recurring use of Beethoven's somber Pathetique piano sonata is ideal as background music to this relentlessly sad story. "The Man Who Wasn't There" is an atmospheric, introspective tale of ultimate tragedy that, like all great cinema, gets better with repeated viewings. Highest recommendation!
Movie Review: "I Just Cut the Hair."
Summary: 5 Stars
While the Beethoven-heavy score plays, Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) intones, "Yeah, I worked in a barber shop. But I never considered myself a barber." A perfect opening line for one of the Coens' greatest movies. Ed has resigned himself to cutting hair and living with his distant wife Doris (Frances McDormand), who is having an affair with her boss, Big Dave (James Gandolfini). When an opportunity opens up involving dry cleaning, Ed decides to try to control over his destiny and ends up being punished for this, in the finest film noir tradition.
As usual from the Coens, this is a darkly comic, cleverly plotted noir, but the unusual for the Coens (aside from the voice-over narration and the gorgeous black and white cinematography) is the depth of feeling in this movie. Although a cipher to everyone around him, Ed is, to the viewer, a decent guy who simply doesn't belong in his life. It's impossible not to feel empathy for this guy. This entire movie bears his essence, from the methodical, deliberate plotting to the smoky, restrained black and white. The Coens have really thought this one through, and the result is marvelous. Clearly not for everyone, but Thornton's depiction of disaffected alienation is brilliant and not to be missed for fans of the Coen Brothers
Movie Review: Another Highly Stylized Film By The Coen Brothers
Summary: 5 Stars
Once again, the Coen Brothers have crafted an exquisite period story on film. Following up on the sepia tone of "O Brother..." the look of this film is darker with more a distinct range of black and white hard edges and shadows, rather than simply a grey patina. It fits the mood, which centers around a simple barber (Billy Bob Thronton) in 1940's Santa Rosa, California, his somewhat antsy wife (Frances McDormand) and a local merchant who may be a crook (James Gandolfini). Simply put (and it's not), it tells the tale of a man who just wants a little bit more out of life and the price he has to pay. Thornton is good as the man with little to say and McDormand is brilliant as the unhappy wife who bites off a little more than she can chew. The Coen Brothers always throw in valuable side characters to intensify the drama and give a wilder spin to the story. I won't reveal any more of the plot, but suffice it to say, it's full of twists and surprises. Brilliant performances are had by every actor (check out the sleazy little salesman who barters with Thorton - "wink"). Besides being a fun story, paced just right, the look is fantastic, as usual. It seems the Coen's frame each shot as if it were meant to be an 8 X 10.Movie Review: A brief comment
Summary: 5 Stars
I really enjoyed this film, which is basically the Coen Bros. homage to the film noir genre. (I always thought the name was funny, since it's French, and yet most of famous directors were German, like Fritz Lang, Otto Preminger, etc. :-)). The sure hand of the brothers with this material is shown in how the film unfolds with the cool, unhurried, nonchalant pace of an experienced private eye or gumshoe doggedly stalking his prey. Thornton is great in the lead as the reticent, phlegmatic barber, and if anything, he is even more convincing with hair than without--even his hairpiece is 50s-ish. :-) The whole cast does a fine job in their roles, and both Gandolfini and Shaloub have a couple of show-stealing scenes. I found the film's climax a complete surprise, as the tables turn unexpectedly on the barber, for whom everything seems to be working out up till then. Overall a great film and probably one of the Coen Bros. best. If you're a Coen Bros. fan you won't find this one a disappointment.