I love the Coen Brothers. They are like Stanley Kubrick or Wes Anderson: Their movies have a unique style that you will always be able to pick out. Rather than special FX, they rely on a good story, strong characters and dialogue. Burn After Reading is very Coen.
The Coens have done quite a bunch of comedies by now. Raising Arizona is a classic, while films like O Brother and Ladykillers dissapointed me. The Big Lebowski is in my opinion one of the best not only in the genre, but also one of the best films of all time. The love of detail in that movie is extraordinary. Yet, Lebowski had too many interwoven plots which was confusing for many people. Also Lebowski was a follow-up to an Oscar winning, more serious, film so expectations ran very high. This is also something that can be said of Burn After Reading.
I fear a lot of critics will have the same problems with Burn After Reading.
Where the film really differs from the Lebowski is, that it doesn't really have a central character. Or at least one that is that obvious. Which actually fits perfectly with the whole spy/agent theme of the film. So here is the plot in a nutshell:
Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) works for the CIA but gets the boot from his current
assigment. Because of that he quits his job altogether. Unfortunately his wife Katie (Tilda Swinton), is not too happy with the situation because she is having an affair with womanizer Harry (George Clooney) and ultimatly wants a divorce. She secretly recovers all data from her husbands computer, which also contains his memoirs about working at the CIA, to give to her divorce lawyer. All this data however, ends up in the hands of fitness trainer Chad (Brad Pitt) and his co-worker Linda, played by Francis McDormand, who needs money to get some plastic surgery done. So they put a plan in motion to blackmail Osborne. And of course, that's where all the trouble starts.As I mentioned earlier, the biggest problem of the film is, that there is no obvious central character that takes you by the hand throughout the movie. But that really remains the films only problem, if you will call it that. Other than that, I have to say this is definitely one of the best Coen movies so far. And that says a lot. Every single person you see in this film, and I really mean that, is so perfectly cast and detailled. The dialogue is incredibly funny and smart. Seriously, if you like Coen films, you will laugh your ass off at some of the things being said on screen. This movie also showcases the formidable acting of all the participants. The performances drew me in and didn't let me go.
Burn is a gem. Many people will not get it, just like the Lebowski, because the humor happens on many different levels and doesn't hit you blunt in the face. And while being funny, in that Coen kind of way, it also has dark and brutal moments, also in that Coen kind of way, that remind me of Fargo. Once again, the Coens prove that they are the masters of showing the human tragedy. Burn After Reading is not as heavy as No Country but you can definitely watch it more often. I know I will. This is a Coen Classic.
