Release: February 5th, 2016Genre: Drama/Comedy
Starring: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum
I have had a really hard time thinking about what to write about the latest quirky comedy from the Coen Brothers. Between work, getting sick, and problems with my car I've been putting off reviewing for a bit, but I'm back, and this is a film that I really needed that time to think about.
Much like the beloved The Big Lebowski, while there is a narrator for the film, you still have to figure out the characters and their motivations by watching them. The Coen's are masters of the rule "show, don't tell" and somehow the way they make their films you really have to pay attention to everything to follow the plot.
The film follows real-life Hollywood producer and "fixer" Eddy Mannix (Josh Brolin) in the 1950s. As a fixer, he helps cover-up any scandalous behavior of his stars, to keep their image clean for the press. He his overseeing production of a number of films, the biggest being the biblical tale Hail. Caesar! starring the womanizing Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) When Whitlock disappears, Mannix must keep away the nosy gossip columnist twins Thora and Thessaly Thacker, and deal with the other actor's issues, as well as figure out where Baird has gone off to.
There are some decent laughs to be had between all of the oddball characters, only helped by the huge cast of talented actors. However, the film as a whole feels very disjointed.
It feels more like a collection of scenes as opposed to a coherent, solid movie. Each scene is great, with eye-popping colors and hilarious, quick-witted dialogue, but the plot doesn't quite come together as a whole. In fact, it seems almost as if the plot itself takes a backseat to the other sub-plots of the film, and it's wrapped up very fast.
Much like Tarantino's The Hateful Eight earlier this year, this film feels like Coen-Brothers lite. It has all of their signature elements, but doesn't amount to very much substance.
Unlike Hateful though, each element works individually, and the scenes are quite funny. If you're a Coen fan, you'll find some entertainment here. Otherwise, wait for DVD.
Verdict: 3/5
No comments:
Post a Comment