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.
23 comments:
Thanks, Felix, your reviews are always a nice read.
Will certainly watch this movie.
Dennis
sounds.. different.guess it's worth a look.
it just got right in my mind: haven't you seen tropic thunder?it was quite a "must see" this summer,though there was a huge hype : /
THIS is at least worth watching cuz of tom cruis' club dance.lololol
I saw Tropic Thunder but was dissapointed. The movie starts of great but doesn't really deliver. You can't really compare it to Burn After Reading either. Tropic Thunder is just another "silly" comedy while Burn After Reading is great cinema.
I'm definitly going to watch it as soon as possible. I'm pretty psyched about the flick, hearing it may be the best coen movie so far - after Fargo. But TBL is one of my favourite movies...ever. So, I can't wait!
___
"Smokey, this is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules."
No, It is not the best in my opinion. One of the best, yes. But Lebowski is better. Just hard to compare though.
Always hard to compare movies or shows to each other, even if they are wirtten/directed by the same person - or persons in this case. But Fargo is simply a very good movie and I like it maybe even a bit more than Lebowski which is just great, too. Although, the whole "Yah,..." in Fargo annoyed me somewhat.
So, even if nobody wants to read it, I will post my short opinion here as soon as I have watched Burn after reading^^
No I meant that Burn ist not the best Coen so far. Don't know where you picked that up. Haven't heard anyone say that.
No, you got me wrong. I read some "critics" review stating it's the best Coen movie since Fargo. I like reading Rotten Tomatoes for critics. Sure there are some critics who tried trashing Batman - especially those from NYC - but I like reading those as well. So that's why I'm psyched about the movie - besides the fact, that it is a Coen movie.
OK, the best since Fargo? Sorry, can't agree with that. I know rotten tomatoes but which critic said that? I don't think anyone tried thrashing Batman on purpose. But you will never find a movie that is liked by everybody. And as long as someone can argument why they give a movie a bad rating, it is all good.
That's so on purpose.
It's by Armond White, he actually does quite few of them.
And this 6-liner is by J.R. Jones - don't know him - about Burn.
I did't mean a Batman review. Just wanted to have one to Burn After Reading that said that. And that to me is hardly a review. But whatever floats your boat.
The second one is the Burn, one.
I know, that's why I said that hardly is a review. Because it is so short. Reads more like a back-of-the-box description.
Alright, didn't get the pun there. Yeah, you are right, it's not much of a review. Anyway, I didn't get it from your review if that's what you meant, I read it somewhere else. After seeing it, I will know for sure, if it's better than any previous Coen movies - maybe..
I am sure you will like it. It is a great movie and a typical Coen.
I recon I will. So far Fargo is my favourite Coen movie and it's hard to believe that this will change anyway.
Also, it's nice to see, that you don't keep your movie reviews as short as possible as you threatened to do. Keep it up.
Huh..this film has been getting some solid reviews but some of them were also quite terrible. Personally, I thought the trailer looked pretty bad with everyone involved putting on their funny faces instead of playing it straight. Now obviously I still have to see it, but after suffering through the likes of Ladykillers not too long ago, I can't say I'll be there on opening day.
Believe me, I love the Coens as much as the next guy but let's face it, they haven't made a good comedy in almost ten years (Oh Brother) and considering that last year's No Country was based on a novel rather than the Coen's original writing, I'm still somewhat reluctant to say that they really are back on track.
Any thoughts on that last point?
I don't think of them as comedy writers/directors. They are much more.
Maybe I will get into this. But Mr. Rick should have the first shot at this.
Obviously, and I didn't mean to put that sort of restriction on them. But looking at their body work, I think there's more or less two categories: the crime drama and the (satirical) comedy. I'm not at all suggesting these are mutually exclusive (consider the film noir elements in Lebowski or the dark humor in a film like Blood simple) but I think this works as a general distinction. I am wondering however if their writing has lost some of its edge which is why they've turned towards adapting material recently (remaking Ladykillers, adapting McCarthy's novel). I should probably watch that film before making such bold statements though ;)
Remember the beginning of Fargo? How it's stated that the film is "based on a true story" or the fact that even Miller's Crossing is somewhat based on a novel/film, too? Same for O Brother (Homer). The didn't excatly turn to adapting material. It's what they build from it - the characters, language and dialogue (in Fargo, Raising Arizona, O Brother...). Sure there is comedy/drama weaved in between like in Raising Arizona or Lebowski but once again - there is so much more! It's the way they play with those - often complete overdrawn (Nobody fucks with the Jesus!) - characters (even in Ladykillers) and yet are able to carry a certain statement to the audience. Sure there is writing but there is also directing which can be seen in brillantly shot movies like No Country/MC/Fargo/O Brother where there is no need for dialogues (Ok, some music) to get the vibe or feel the tension. It's hard to explain and I don't want to get into deconstructing these movies too far but I hope you get what I'm trying to say. I don't think they are off the track, even a bit. And hopefully I will be right after we both have seen Burn after reading. :)
Chris, without going into this to much: I see what you're getting at yet still disagree with you on a number of things. I will elaborate if you insist but for now, I don't see the point of derailing this film specific discussion any more. Suffice to say that I enjoy the possibility of having a conversation like this :)
Feel free to elaborate or don't. Although I must admit, I would like to read it. Seems as I share the enjoying part of this.
I loved your blog. Thank you.
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