Review: The Man Who Wasn't There

By Jack on 2002-03-05 13:51:13

Last night I had the fortunate pleasure of watching the Coen Brother's latest film "The Man Who Wasn't There" at the Mission Theater and Pub (Beer plus Food plus Movie=Good!), here is my review:



Directed By: Joel Coen ?
Written By: ?Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Photography: Roger Deakins
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, Michael Badalucco and more..

Billy Bob Thornton plays Ed Crane, a barber working for the family business he married into. He doesn?t like to talk (although he narrates the film) and seems generally dissatisfied with his life but never really mentions it to anybody. He even believes that his wife, Doris (Frances McDormand) is having an affair with her boss, Big Dave (James Gandolfini), but just lets it slide until he tries to spice up his life with a little blackmail which goes horribly awry.

Billy's performance is phenomenal. You can't help but think can this really be the same actor who gave such a memorably twitchy, jaw-jutting tour de force in Sling Blade? In that film, Thornton exaggerated his character's outsider status to draw us into the story; here, his well-manicured normalcy keeps us at a distance, but you'll notice the overall feel of the film benefits greatly from this.

The Coens definitely know how to create film noir, and the decision to print in black and white and the primitiveness of visual technology really reflects this, capturing both the mood and setting of a small post-war California town. Each shot is so carefully crafted using light and shadow that you could almost say some are too perfect.

Conclusion: While some may say that "The Man Who Wasn't There" is a film noir for devotees (including yours truly), this is a highly satisfying and brilliantly made film. The photography is stunning and shot to perfection, illustrating what is obviously a deep and loving knowledge of black and white cinematography. The look of the film on its own is worth the cinema fee, as it is flawless. With that I give this film a 8.5/10.

Pre-Order this film from Amazon.com: (15% of profits go to the save dtheatre.com fund) The Man Who Wasn't There.

DTheatre.com also recommends the following related films: O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Fargo, Millers Crossing, Blood Simple, The Big Lewbowski

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