The Coen brothers have done it again! Or Émaybe not? After critical favorites such as Fargo and audience winner O Brother, Where Art Thou, it seems like the fraternity has chosen to rest on their lau rels. Not a wise idea. I feel more like burying the Caesars than praising them.
A black and white movie with film noir potential set in the "swell"fifties, our expectations began to build as Ed Crane The Barber (played by Billy Bob Thornton) starts constructing his "American Dream"of forging his way up and out of the barber shop. Costumes and music being promising, we initially sank down into our trade mark Al-Bundy-couch-positions and awaited the unfolding of the rest of the story. When the long-suspect ed affair between Ed's wife Doris (Frances McDormand) and their mutual "friend"Big Dave Brewster (James Gandolfini) is confirmed, Ed sees a way to earn hard cash from it, but unfortunately ends up killing Mr. Big himself in the process. Tsk tsk. When thepolice mistakenly suspect and arrest Ed's wife (pre-DNA, those were the days) for the murder, the movie finally won our attention and we waited with anticipation for it to really take off.
Unfortunately, the remainder of the film had a suspense curve as flat as Minnesota. Despite Billy Bob's ambitious and fairly successful mystery-man performance (is that an ingenious scheme you are planning Ed, or are you just quietly passing gas?), the sloooooooow pace of the movie pulls it down like a black hole. To ushe seems mysterious only because of the agonizing pace of the movie. It's almost as if the reels themselves are running slowly. Featuring dual morality and fidelity themes to the bitter end, the movie really crashes with its attempted South American magicrealism elements (read: X-Files meets South Park). O Brothers, why did you have to add that UFO? (The mothership can't save you now, your ass is gonna get left behind.) The harsh irony of life catches up with our friend Mr. Ed; his wife takes a drive downthe eternal highway and he is ultimately convicted for his own crimes as well as those of his victim. How sour can life get for a poor barber?
Just like any other Coen brothers movie, there are twists and turns and grungy actors, but this one went a bit too far —if you have any degree of A.D.D., well, you will drive yourself insane watching this movie. Not saying it wasn't nice, but unless you can find extreme jump-out-of-your-seat-joy in the smaller things in life (like el rolio) this movie is not for y ou. One example of such "small things"is the young girl who tries to seduce our barber Ed, seeking a chance at dry cleaning fame. Also, if you are trying to quit smoking, do not go see this movie. Ed is practically a walking cigarette advertisement (we sus pect that the movie was sponsored by Marlboro). It basically forces you to light up as you step out of the movie. Another thing this movie prompts you to do (as it did us) is to walk slowly. The sheer pace of the movie and frequency of shots of walking fe et just makes you want to be like that, chill for a couple hours, until it wears off. Or is it just a small town thing?
The Man Who Wasn't There did appeal to us in a few ways, such as its black and white style to enhance the film's era, and the great soundtrack. Ed's random moments of enlightenment (he narrates the movie), along with his quiet, unexcited speech pattern made for some amusing scenes. We also particularly liked the quaint storyline and small town mentality presented in the film. However, tru st us on this one: most even remotely experienced moviegoers are not going to like this movie. It is better saved for a Sunday of boredom (as opposed to a Friday or Saturday night at the theater) when your expectations are not nearly as high and you can as sume our "Bundy"positions on your couch in your underwear, watching the movie with a cigarette and a scotch on the rocks. Basically, as one character in the movie states all too often, "the more you look the less you see."So please, do not dwell too muchon the storyline and the plot of the movie. Just receive what it has to offer on a more superficial level, and you might find yourself entertained.
