Imagine 2004's Crash as a model for this Coen brothers comedy where all the characters are somehow linked, although they don't even know about it. Their stories cross repeatedly in a story of extremely low-level political intrigue that ends up in murder and mayhem. Sounds hilarious, doesn't it? Working with such high quality directors like the Coens must appeal to big name actors because the cast assembled here is as pitch perfect as possible with several stars playing completely against type, their image that has helped make them stars.
A long-time analyst for the CIA Balkan desk, Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) is being reassigned because of a drinking problem which he may or may not have. Much to his wife's chagrin (Tilda Swinton), Osborne decides to write a memoir about his days in the CIA. After some early struggles, the disk with all of Osborne's files ends up in the very uncapable hands of two gym employees, Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand), a middle-aged woman who's decided she's gone as far as she can with this body and needs massive amounts of plastic surgery, and Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), Linda's dimwitted friend who goes along with her plan for some reason. Thinking they've stumbled on to a jackpot, Linda and Chad attempt to blackmail Osborne into paying for his CD back. So starts events that snowball and gets much, much worse before they'll get better.
The first 30 minutes or so set the stage and introduce all the characters and because of that is somewhat slow. There's also Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a U.S. marshal and generally pretty clueless guy who's having an affair with Cox's wife, and Ted (Richard Jenkins), the manager of the gym Linda and Chad work at who is also madly in love with Linda. The pace picks up quickly once they do find the CD, and it never really slows down from there. I'm not talking a chuckle here and there, I mean deep, guttural laughs from your stomach where you feel you're going to pee. It is as dark as dark humor can get, completely born out of the situation these idiotic characters have created for themselves.
While the whole cast is phenomenal, the star is Brad Pitt who has a supporting role and limited screentime as dimwitted but lovable Chad. Pitt has done comedy before, but nothing quite like this. He pulls off the physical humor -- Chad is always dancing with his ever-present IPOD never too far away -- and completely commits to looking like a dork. Here's a fan-made best of Chad moments. I hope Pitt continues with these against type comedic roles. That's not to say the rest of the cast isn't good, but Pitt steals the movie. Malkovich gets to play the straight man and is hilarious because he is playing it seriously. His Osborne Cox is just going through a rough patch that gets worse and worse every day. McDormand does not disappoint either as plastic surgery driven Linda.
What makes this all work (besides the absolute idiocy of the characters' reactions) is the commitment to making this a serious movie. There's no pandering to audiences with easy laughs or clues -- LAUGH NOW, THIS IS FUNNY! -- with the Coen brothers script building to these crazy moments, including one of the funniest scenes ever, a meeting between Chad and Osborne. Selling this all is a perfect score from composer Carter Burwell which sounds like something you'd hear in a political thriller and therefore is completely out of place. It works because it points out the ridiculousness of it all.
As for the last 30 minutes or the movie, think of Fargo's finale and you've got an idea of where this story is going. The bodies mount up and the paranoia grows as everyone assumes someone else is trying to turn them in. It builds to a great ending with J.K. Simmons and David Rasche as two CIA officers trying to figure out exactly what's happening (seen HERE, not the greatest quality). If you enjoy extremely dark comedy or are a fan of previous Coen movies, this one should be right up your alley.
Burn After Reading <----trailer (2008): ****/****
No comments:
Post a Comment