George Clooney as Harry Pfarrer and Frances
McDormand as Linda Litzke in The Coen Brothers film "Burn After Reading", which
opened across North America today. (Photo: Focus Features)
THE POPCORN REEL FILM REVIEW/"Burn After
Reading"
Heartburn After Laughing: Bumbling,
Stumbling Farce At Its Best
By
Omar P.L. Moore/September
12, 2008
The Coen Brothers return to the conventional Coen Brothers with the hilarious
"Burn After Reading", a comedy-spy thriller that is best in its sparing moments of
nothingness, irony and ridicule, and highly entertaining in its unlikely
farcical qualities. The Coens assemble a motley crue of characters from
all points of nowhere, throw them together in Washington, D.C. like jumbalaya
and hey presto -- a great film is served.
In this paradise of parody Osbourne Cox, a disgraced CIA agent (John Malkovich),
has been fired for among other things, a drinking problem, and is unknowingly
ensconced in the middle of a divorce proceeding from his emasculating wife (Tilda
Swinton). A CD containing book of his memoirs, including highly classified
material has gone missing, ending up in the hands of Chad, a hyperactive
flamboyant gym employee (a brilliant Brad Pitt) and Linda, his colleague
(Frances McDormand) who needs money to get multiple surgeries on her
self-conscious character. Everything about "Burn After Reading" shows that
it doesn't take itself seriously and after the intensity of "No Country For Old
Men" the Brothers of Mischief and Mastery have exhaled with this slim, snappy,
96-minute miracle of mirth and madness.
George Clooney hams things up as Harry Pfarrer, an avid runner and womanizer who
invents a contraption that will be a funny surprise revealed during the film.
He philanders (or whores around if you prefer) with Ms. Swinton and Ms.
McDormand among others, and is a paranoid everyman who just wants to be left
alone. Married, he is more than a little dissatisfied with his successful
wife (played by Elizabeth Marvel), and in Harry's years as an officer -- or
whomever he is -- he has never discharged his gun -- and he reminds everyone of
this, with glee.
The film's technical proficiency matches the energy and idiosyncrasies of the
characters. Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography blends so well into the
facial ticks and quirks of the Coens' cast and Carter Burwell's music score is
an effective overplay in what is a yakety-yak satire that will keep you
laughing. (The Coens also edit the film themselves under the pseudonym
Roderick Jaynes, as they often have in the past.)
"Burn After Reading" works so well that even the moments of graphic violence it
contains have to be taken within the madcap maniacal movie that it is -- as
absurd, outrageous and bizarrely appropriate in context. What follows is
the laziest thing that a film critic can say but "Burn After Reading" plays like
"Pulp Fiction" without the philosophy. Things suddenly happen and then
life moves on. And that's that. What is phenomenal about the film
(which also stars Richard Jenkins as the lovelorn manager of the Hardbodies
gym), is how its characters -- especially CIA head (J.K. Simmons) -- pause and
reflect at the moments of life's predicaments and improbabilities. The
scenes he has are some of the funniest moments in American cinema so far in
2008.
Many times one hears the words, "you couldn't script that in a Hollywood movie",
but with "Burn After Reading" Ethan Coen and Joel Coen have, and unlike any
other directors and writers they pull it off spectacularly.
"Burn After Reading" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America
for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence. Watch out for
the bloodshed while you laugh. The film's duration is one hour and 36
minutes.
Copyright The Popcorn Reel. PopcornReel.com. 2008. All Rights
Reserved.