O Brother, Where Art Thou?

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen, 2000)

Written by Ethan and Joel Coen and directed by the latter, it is stated in the openning of the film that O Brother, Where Art Thou? is based on Homer’s Odyssey and titled just like the movie Joel McCrea’s character in Preston Sturges’ Sullivan’s Travels works on while traveling as a hobo in the movie. The Coens have a grand admiration towards the director of some of the best comedies of the 1940’s and it is a great homage to make this movie that was never directed and that carries Sturges’ spirit. Some scenes are direct connections to the original film of 1941 especially the scene in the movie theatre.

The Big Lebowski

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.

Top Films of Joel and Ethan Coen by LMdC

1. Fargo (1995)
2. No Country For Old Men (2007)
3. Barton Fink (1991)
4. Blood Simple (1984)
5. The Big Lebowski (1998)
6. Raising Arizona (1987)
7. Miller's Crossing (1990)
8. Burn After Reading (2008)
9. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
10. Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
11. A Serious Man (2009)

I still need to see: O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) The Ladykillers (2004) True Grit (2010)

A Serious Man un film de Joel & Ethan Coen

Nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, written by the winners of best Screenplay for Fargo and directed by those same guys that won for Best achievement in Directing and Best Picture in 2007 for No Country for Old Men, one of the best films of the last decade. The Coen brothers are making uncommon genre films since their first film; Blood Simple (1984). They have their lots of success Fargo, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink, O' Brother Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men, and they have their share of flaws too The Hudsucker Proxy, Intolerable Cruelty (for the audience), The Ladykillers, The Man Who Wasn't There, and maybe Burn After Reading. In the case of A Serious Man to me it felt in the second category. I didn't had any expectations because I haven't read any reviews of it and I wanted to have my own idea on this one.

This is the story of a Jewish family in the 1960's where a teacher of mathematics, Larry Gopnik has his life splatting everywhere, his wife wants a divorce, his daughter his stealing from him, his son is gonna have his Bar Mitzvah but he only thinks of being stone, his brother is sick physically and mentally... Well, the events surpasses him and he doesn't know how to handle them. Anyway, even with all these misfortunes the Coen brothers couldn't made me care for poor Larry.

Visually its nothing like what the Coens presented to us before, it's all about grey and dull colors everywhere. It illustrate well how the story feels. On the other hand, the editing is very dynamic and helps the scenes to the wonderful script. A Serious Man is not a complete failure, the story has rich lines and the events fell in the right place. I just think that the story could have been more structured on supporting characters that are more accessories to the story than involved in it. It would have made the film more viewable, 'cause it's a very cold film.

I really enjoy the best of what the Coens have offered but I think A Serious Man is a personnal film for them and it doesn't has the deep inspiration they often bring to their better films with their dark humour and violent turnovers...

5/10

A Film Review by Michaël Parent