I have a bit of a hot and cold relationship with the Coen
brothers. While their approach to crime stories is definitely commendable and
they’re responsible for one of my all-time favourite films with The Big Lebowski, the majority of their work doesn’t elicit that much more than shrug
from yours truly. Hell, their 2013 penned effort Gambit was ultimately so unengaging that I couldn’t even come
up with a full review for the thing. Although, in the interest of fairness,
that film was also riddled with production troubles and most of their actual
script ended up being rewritten. Still, even with all this in mind, I can't
help but admit to their obvious skill behind the camera as well as their
aptitude for scripting. Considering that, even if today’s film doesn’t work out
too well, it will at least show more effort than an awful lot of films released
in the last two months. How much more
effort, however, is the big question.
The fact that this film has the ensemble cast that it does
is great on its own, but it’s bolstered by the fact that all of them leave their mark by film’s end. Brolin is fantastic as
Mannix, embodying the Coen brothers’ unique approach to film noir with a
performance that feels pulled right out of L.A. Noire. Clooney is in prime
comedic form here, both when conversing with The Future as well as his
mannerisms when on set for the titular film-within-a-film. Alden Ehrenreich as
Hobie does the singing cowboy shtick to a T and, when coupled with Ralph
Fiennes’ artsy director, makes for easily one of the funniest exchanges,
calling it now, that I’ll see all year. Coens regular Frances McDormand gets
maybe two lines of dialogue overall, and yet she handles the role of editor
immensely well. Channing Tatum is put to probably his best use in years, taking
his finesse in performing from Magic Mike and turning it into a well-played
tribute to classic Hollywood musicals. Wayne Knight, despite not even getting a
character name, makes the screen his own in a key scene early on the film.
However, more than anyone else, the one actor who stole the show for me as
Robert Picardo as the rabbi; him bickering amongst the other religious
officials was absolutely hilarious to see.
At its core, this is the Coens paying tribute to the Golden
Age of Hollywood, and they seriously went for broke with this one because they
leave no stone unturned. Through the connecting tissue of Mannix as the studio
fixer, we see a whole gamut of older film styles being adhered to. We have
Scarlett Johansson and Tatum showing the kind of on-screen choreography of
dancing/singing that I never realised I missed seeing; Ehrenreich playing up
both Westerns and attempted break-out dramatic works; and of course, Clooney in
the big prestige picture epic. Basically, this film sets out to do for talkies
what The Artist did for silent films, and it handles that prospect rather well.
For starters, not only do the Coens show definite skill at the helm and in the
editing room, but so do regulars Roger "Oh my freaking God!" Deakins behind the
camera and Carter Burwell conducting the music. For another, they all seem to
be having all the fun imaginable not only with portraying the different film
styles of the era but also in portraying the ‘real world’ events as well, like
the film noir moments of Mannix’s arc and even the matte painting look for a
scene near the end involving a submarine. The meshing of older and newer
filming approaches, thankfully, work really well together in this instance.
More so than its rather comedic take on the old cinematic
guard, and don’t get me wrong this is an extremely funny watch, there’s an
awful lot of reverence shown for said old guard. Even though it’s largely
depicted through the eyes of a studio fixer, someone dedicated to keeping the
image of Hollywood as squeaky-clean as possible despite evidence to the
contrary, there is nothing but earnestness to be felt here. Even with all the
production issues and actor drama and Communist writers’ circles getting in the
way of things, there is still magic to be felt on those stages. This is
especially felt with how Mannix, despite everything going on and the offers on
his table to change vocations, still holds some regard for what is so callously
considered by others to just be a business like any other. But no, there is a
lot of work and a lot of people that go into making a single picture, something
exemplified by how this film takes time out to give credit to the lesser
appreciated hands involved in cinema. From Fiennes’ snooty but ultimately
impassioned director to the writers who are sick of getting no credit for their
work to McDormand’s surprisingly dangerous job as an editor, we see that film,
even back then, was made up of more than just the lead roles.
Probably the most telling of all the elements that make up
this script, in terms of showing respect for what came before, are the
antagonists that are responsible for Whitlock’s kidnapping. Made up of
Hollywood screenwriters who, after so long of not seeing any of the millions of
dollars that come in for their work, learnt Communist doctrine and decided to
become part of something bigger. We’ll ignore how warped this depiction of
Communists is considering, despite being Communists, they sure care an awful
lot about money, and instead look at their place in cinematic history. This
film takes place in the 50’s, a transitional period for Hollywood with the
studio system soon coming to an end and the Cold War well and truly on its way.
With escapism so desperately being needed, and the largest distributor of such
under pressure from its surroundings, it’s understandable how all the work
being put into every production is so important and why lack of appreciation
for said work would be all the more jading. But let’s look at how much cinema
has changed since that time: Rather than relying so much big-name studios for
our fix, cinema has made its way into every nook and cranny of the world with
the rise of independent cinema… which is a style that is mostly determined by its
script more than anything else. Huh. I guess these writers really are The Future, given that same
independent movement is what gave rise to many a prominent cinematic visionary,
including the Coen brothers.
All in all, this is an amazing film when all is said and
done. Never mind it’s absolute respect for past cinema, both for the industry
as a whole and for the specific roots that would later give rise to the Coen
brothers themselves. Never mind the laser-guided comedic timing on display,
resulting in one of those rare films where I can actively recall jokes from it.
Never mind the ensemble cast that make sure they all get their chance to shine and they all take advantage of it.
This is a film where there isn’t a single moment of dead air; nothing in this
film feels like it would have improved the overall product by being removed.
That is exceptionally rare to find in a film these days. I’d genuinely rank this up there with some of the
Coens’ best work, alongside The Big Lebowski and No Country For Old Men, and
recommend it to pretty much anyone, film buff or no film buff.
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