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The Coen Brothers are a class act, who bring over sixty years of film history to the table each time they make a movie. Each film they've done has been intelligent, witty, and stunning to look at. They have always had the best cinematographer in the business on board; Barry Sonnenfield until he left to become a successful director then Roger Deakens, whom I think is the best cinematographer around right now. That's partly the key to their success; they hire the most talented, creative people around and let them do their stuff. The brothers have a great writer in Ethan and Joel has a magnificent eye for detail. They obviously research very well because every tiny detail is exactly accurate according to the period the film is set in, and they have a visual style that's second to none. It must go without saying that they both have an exquisite sense of humour because some of the films they have done are absolutely hilarious, and even the serious films are imbued with a streak of black humour a mile wide. Technically, they are without peer and they know how to tell a story in a compelling way. They've seen enough classic movies to know what works and what doesn't, and know that doing it the old-fashioned way is preferable because the movies they love are very old and have stood the test of time. I don't look forward to any other filmmakers' work as much as the next Coen Brothers film. |
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Blood Simple (1984) |
The Coen Brothers first film and pretty polished it is too. It features some wonderful performances by two of the cinema's more unusual actors; M. Emmet Walsh, and Dan Hedaya. Walsh especially deserves a lot of credit for his portrayal of the seediest private detective you've ever seen. Frances McDormand (now Mrs Joel Coen) also pops up as the femme fatale. There's some inventive camera work and it's a good tale well told. Looking back on it now it seems a little basic, but that's because we've been spoiled by the high sheen of the newer Coen Brothers offerings.
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Raising Arizona (1987) |
High Octane cartoon-style antics starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter as a childless couple looking to kidnap one of the town's most prominant citizens' babies. The camera work by Barry Sonnenfield is superlative and the visual imagination this film has been invested with is impressive. This will become more and more a feature of Coen Brothers films as time goes by. It's a very funny film, made all the more enjoyable because of the skill with which it was made. It also features the first appearance of Coen Brothers regular John Goodman.
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Miller's Crossing (1990) |
The Coens go back to the depression era and tell a tale of gangsters and double-crosses, men in long coats and hats, carrying Tommy Guns and smoking cigars. There are no women in this film, rather there are dames - you get the picture. Another polished product with excellent performances, especially John Turturro, in his first of many stints with the Coens. The two main stars, Gabriel Byrne and Albert Finney are also very good, although Finney does have a slightly wonky accent. The period detail is spot on. This film also marks the first appearance of Coens regular Jon Polito.
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Barton Fink (1991) |
John Turturro once again features as the title character this time, in the tale of a New York writer trying to make it in Hollywood, where all his lofty ideals are slowly erroded until he ends up doing hack-work for hire on a wrestling picture. But with that 'Barton Fink' feeling. This film features my all time favourite line in movies; "We want that Barton Fink feeling, the audience wants that Barton Fink feeling, and seeing as you're Barton Fink, we figure you've got it in spades". Classic. And there's a whole bucket-load of gems like that peppered throughout the film.
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The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) |
Delightfully daft take on the forties Howard Hawks, Preston Sturges type movie for which the Coens obviously have a great fondness. This one features a likably lanky innocent young hick, played by Tim Robbins, who's seeking success in the Big City. It's a rags to riches to rags story told with a bucket-load of visual flair and featuring some bravura character acting from the likes of Charles Durning and Paul Newman. There's more exquisite lines of dialogue in this film than you can shake a stick at. Jennifer Jason Leigh pulls off the dame-with-sass act nicely.
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Fargo (1996) |
That's Fargo, Minnesota, and it's cold up there. The cinematography in this film is very nicely done. Snow never seemed so cold from your armchair as when you see all that white up there on the screen for folks to skid around in their cars, and trudge around up to their waists in. Steve Buscemi and Frances McDormand are both excellent, but for me, at least as far as the performances go, this is William H. Macey's film; his turn as Jerry Lundergaard, who arranges for his own wife to be kidnapped to raise money to pay his debts is a treat to watch. He squirms better than almost anyone when he's trapped - like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Kidnapping is a common theme in Coen Brothers films. |
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The Big Lebowski (1998) |
Now we're getting to the meat and potatoes of the thing. Once again, there's kidnapping afoot and it's up to ultra-slacker Jeff Lebowski - an inspired turn by Jeff Bridges - to sort the whole mess out. This film features performances to die for; John Goodman and Steve Buscemi as Lebowski's slightly deranged friends, John Turturro as an hispanic paedophile, Philip Seymour Hoffman as a toadying PA, Julianne Moore as a nymphomaniac, Ben Gazzarra as porn mogul Jackie Treehorn. Plus there's a Busby Berkeley type musical production number! The whole thing's inspired, and it looks tremendous too. I could watch this film all day long.
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O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) |
Perhaps the only film that could have lived up to the standard the Coen Brothers set themselves with The Big Lebowski, this one is just about as perfect. George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson feature as escaped convicts trying to put as much distance between them and their captors as possible, while at the same time managing to record a hit single, take a ride with Babyface Nelson, pick up a hitch-hiking Robert Johnson, disband the local KKK, and change the result of the state elections. Once again the whole thing is sumptious to look at, and there are some inspired performances, especially from Charles Durning, John Goodman, and all three leads. |
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The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) |
Another homage to films of yesteryear; this time it's the film noirs of the forties. The eponymous man is a barber, played with deathly quiet intensity by Billy Bob Thornton, whose wife is cheating on him. Events unfold in a classic film noir manner with lots of old favourites popping up. James Gandolfini is suitably menacing as the other man, Frances McDormand is her usual reliable self as the cheating wife, and Scarlett Johansson pops up as the catalyst to a lot of mayhem. Bizarrely, a flying saucer turns up at one point, and it's got nothing to do with anything else that's going on at the time.Weird. And you can learn a lot about hairdressing too.
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No Country For Old Men (2007) |
This is an absolute masterpiece and the Coens' most accomplished film yet. Josh Brolin puts in a solid performance as a Texan who stumbles across a drug deal gone wrong and a great deal of money, and Javier Bardem is fabulous as a psychotic and utterly single-minded hitman on his trail. Tommy Lee Jones is also excellent as an old cop on the verge of retirement who just can't keep up with the evils in the world. This film is much more lyrical than your average crime caper, due to the source material by Cormac McCarthy and the attunement the Coens obviously have to it. Jones's musings on the nature of evil and his place in the world give this film a poetic dimension and the cat and mouse situation between Brolin and Bardem is nerve-wracking. |
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A Serious Man (2009) |
Larry Gopnik is a physics professor and family man whose life is about to unfold in a hundred different ways - testing his resolve to live an honest and decent life. As Larry himself states midway through the film, 'actions have consequences', and this is at the heart of what this film is about. Can Larry rise above his travails and remain true to his principles? What terrible consequences await him should he fail to do the right thing? I reckon this is a film that will improve on second viewing because the first viewing offers much food for thought, in addition to all its other qualities. One of the Coens' better films, featuring great performances all round, wonderful cinematography as usual by the brilliant Roger Deakens and some intellectual stimulation thrown in for good measure. A great addition to the Coens already brilliant body of work. |
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