The Big Lebowski
(Joel & Ethan Coen, 1998)
"Dude" Lebowski, mistaken
for a millionaire Lebowski, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists
his bowling buddies to help get it.
How a film goes to a cult status in almost fifteen
years? First throw one of the most beloved duo of bros filmmakers Joel and
Ethan Coen and let them remake a Howard
Hawks classic film starring Humphrey
Bogart and you’ll have this one of a kind pathetic losers bowling low class
buddies portrayed by some of the best actors out there. The Hawks picture we’re
talking about is The Big Sleep and I
won’t go all over it because John LaRue of The
Droid You’re Looking For has written a very good piece on the similarities
between both films.
The story of the wrong man has been done hundreds of
times and the formula is more or less a canvas for Film Noir. Here the formula
is applied to a low life unemployed bowling player called Jeffrey Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) but everyone calls him
The Dude. He gets caught in a story of kidnapping, ransom with a similarly
named millionaire (David Huddleston),
involving his bowling partners Walter (John
Goodman) and Donnie (Steve Buscemi),
Maude the daughter of the millionaire (Julianne
Moore), and a panel of colourful characters portrayed by Tara Reid, John Turturro, Peter
Stormare, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Every line of this movie has probably been quoted by
someone dozens of times! While rewatching it this reviewer literally
rediscovered one of the greatest comedies of all time. The strong plot based on
a William Faulkner screenplay mixed with the Coens’ quirky visions of American
irony and satire gives to this story a twist unexpected and lots of laughs.
It’s also all about the mastered mise en scène and the superb cinematography by long time
collaborator Roger Deakins that
makes this surprising comedy work. It elevates the brownish and beige color
palette and puts a twist that gets your eye wanting more of this story. From
the 1980’s sets to the sadly ugly costumes the production is perfect and it
brings us into the low life Hollywood of The Dude; this White Russian drinker,
amateur league bowling player, unemployed but still sympathetic loser who gets
wrapped into a crazy story without really seizing what the heck is happening to
him and his two acolytes.
Another aspect of this film is the amazing amount of film references used by the Coen Brothers. For example, when The Dude holds Bunny feet it is a direct reference to Stanley Kubrick's Lolita. There are also lots of Film Noir references that demonstrates the knowledge of the Coens when it comes to films. My favorite one is the Akira Kurosawa's High and Low, one of my favorite Kurosawa films. A cinephile's delight.
This is definitely the kind of film I would yearly
revisit and learn every line and quote it endlessly among friends and family
just like Christmas Vacation. The
Coen brothers are in my own taste a hit or miss case when it comes to the
quality of their films and in this case it is a sure hit, it’s a home run. I
highly recommend their twisted comedy of The
Big Lebowski.
