I'll get directly to the point here. This film is great.
Usually I'd try to get a bit more pre-amble in before passing judgement, but Coen Brothers films are strangely structured anyway, so there we go. The Coens have made several commercial and critical successes over the last few years, most notably Fargo and The Big Lebowski. Neither of these could be described as ordinary or run-of-the-mill films. They were bold, personal, character-driven stories, and so is O Brother, Where Art Thou.
Hung loosely on the framework of an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, the three protagonists escape their chain-gang and throw themselves into a frantic journey across the American South of the 30's in search of a "treasure". En route they encounter Siren washerwomen, a Cyclopean bible-salesman and a guitar-player who sold his soul to Satan. They also manage to record a hit song, wreck a Klu Klux Klan meeting, turn the tide of a political landslide, re-build a marriage and use a whole lot of pomade. Which, I think, gives you a lot of value for your money.
George Clooney proves (to me at least) for the first time that he is a capable actor with a range beyond the Doug Ross "nice-but-rough" guy. A slick, silver-tongued fast-talker with an obsession for haircare, played for laughs, requires a good deal of self-mockery, and Clooney doesn't flinch from that. Joining him is Coen Brother's mainstay John Turturro (expanding his already huge theatrical range even further), and the relatively unknown Tim Blake Nelson (who provides fantastic out and out buffoonery). Strong support is provided by the ever-brilliant John Goodman as well as Daniel Von Bargen (who manages to be sinister and scary despite a tiny amount of screen time), and especially by the music composed by T Bone Burnett.
The real stars of this film, however, are the Coens themselves. Ever inventive in their writing and direction, they tell stories better than any other mainstream film-makers in the business. I personally prefer The Hudsucker Proxy to any of their other films, purely because of the sheer beauty of dialogue, but recommend this film most highly to fans of Clooney, the Coens, comedy and even cinema in general.
Usually I'd try to get a bit more pre-amble in before passing judgement, but Coen Brothers films are strangely structured anyway, so there we go. The Coens have made several commercial and critical successes over the last few years, most notably Fargo and The Big Lebowski. Neither of these could be described as ordinary or run-of-the-mill films. They were bold, personal, character-driven stories, and so is O Brother, Where Art Thou.
Hung loosely on the framework of an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, the three protagonists escape their chain-gang and throw themselves into a frantic journey across the American South of the 30's in search of a "treasure". En route they encounter Siren washerwomen, a Cyclopean bible-salesman and a guitar-player who sold his soul to Satan. They also manage to record a hit song, wreck a Klu Klux Klan meeting, turn the tide of a political landslide, re-build a marriage and use a whole lot of pomade. Which, I think, gives you a lot of value for your money.
George Clooney proves (to me at least) for the first time that he is a capable actor with a range beyond the Doug Ross "nice-but-rough" guy. A slick, silver-tongued fast-talker with an obsession for haircare, played for laughs, requires a good deal of self-mockery, and Clooney doesn't flinch from that. Joining him is Coen Brother's mainstay John Turturro (expanding his already huge theatrical range even further), and the relatively unknown Tim Blake Nelson (who provides fantastic out and out buffoonery). Strong support is provided by the ever-brilliant John Goodman as well as Daniel Von Bargen (who manages to be sinister and scary despite a tiny amount of screen time), and especially by the music composed by T Bone Burnett.
The real stars of this film, however, are the Coens themselves. Ever inventive in their writing and direction, they tell stories better than any other mainstream film-makers in the business. I personally prefer The Hudsucker Proxy to any of their other films, purely because of the sheer beauty of dialogue, but recommend this film most highly to fans of Clooney, the Coens, comedy and even cinema in general.