Spring Break
Coen Brothers' latest, 'Burn After Reading,' heats up the screen
by Ben Strassfeld
Arts | 9/23/08
Posted online at 11:02 PM EST on 9/22/08
/ Last updated at 12:17 AM EST on 9/22/08
Burn After Reading is the latest film from the Coen Brothers, the directing duo behind the critically acclaimed No Country for Old Men. The film involves a blackmail plot, leaked CIA documents and murder, among a number of other dark exploits. Sound serious? Well, it's not, and that's the big joke of the movie: the Coen brothers have crafted another of their trademark "idiot" comedies, and like other such Coen films as The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona and O Brother, Where are Thou?, Burn After Reading delights in the sheer lunacy and stupidity of its characters.
The plot takes off with the discovery of the memoirs of a recently fired CIA agent (John Malkovich) by two dimwitted fitness trainers (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand), who, thinking the documents contain top secret information, plan to blackmail the agent. However, the kicker is that the memoirs of the low-level CIA agent contain no important secret information and are worth about as much as your old socks.
The film draws its humor from its hysterical characters and their insane interactions with each other. Thankfully, the cast members realize the ridiculousness of the story and their characters and consequently do not hold back. George Clooney, now a Coen brothers regular after O Brother and Intolerable Cruelty, is absolutely hysterical as a womanizer carefully balancing relationships with three women, one of whom is his wife. Clooney paradoxically manages both to restrain himself and go all out; careful not to take the over-the-top dialogue too far, he instead lets the humor come through in his facial expressions. Clooney reveals himself as a subtly talented comedic actor and not just the brooding hero of films like Michael Clayton and Syriana.
Malkovich is also hilarious as an unemployed ex-CIA agent in the midst of a divorce. Here, the Coen brothers have finally allowed the comedic talents he briefly showcased in films like Being John Malkovich to take center stage. McDormand, terrific as always, fits perfectly into the world of the Coens, no doubt in part because she is married to one of them. The rest of the large ensemble cast is equally capable, with Richard Jenkins delivering a knockout performance hot on the heels of his much discussed role in The Visitor.
The plot takes off with the discovery of the memoirs of a recently fired CIA agent (John Malkovich) by two dimwitted fitness trainers (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand), who, thinking the documents contain top secret information, plan to blackmail the agent. However, the kicker is that the memoirs of the low-level CIA agent contain no important secret information and are worth about as much as your old socks.
The film draws its humor from its hysterical characters and their insane interactions with each other. Thankfully, the cast members realize the ridiculousness of the story and their characters and consequently do not hold back. George Clooney, now a Coen brothers regular after O Brother and Intolerable Cruelty, is absolutely hysterical as a womanizer carefully balancing relationships with three women, one of whom is his wife. Clooney paradoxically manages both to restrain himself and go all out; careful not to take the over-the-top dialogue too far, he instead lets the humor come through in his facial expressions. Clooney reveals himself as a subtly talented comedic actor and not just the brooding hero of films like Michael Clayton and Syriana.
Malkovich is also hilarious as an unemployed ex-CIA agent in the midst of a divorce. Here, the Coen brothers have finally allowed the comedic talents he briefly showcased in films like Being John Malkovich to take center stage. McDormand, terrific as always, fits perfectly into the world of the Coens, no doubt in part because she is married to one of them. The rest of the large ensemble cast is equally capable, with Richard Jenkins delivering a knockout performance hot on the heels of his much discussed role in The Visitor.
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