After the Coen Bros (Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski) walked away from the Academy Awards earlier this year with 4 Oscars including best picture and best director for No Country For Old Men (which I love), they return with Burn After Reading. Using an all-star cast that includes George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich and Tilda Swinton, the Coens cleverly tell the story where things don’t go according to plan (especially when the Coens are involved) and soon everybody gets mixed up in the chaos. While No Country… was a bit of a departure from the Coen’s previous works, Burn After Reading is a return to form as they once again deliver their unique style of comedy.
The whole thing starts when foul-mouthed Osborne Cox (Malkovich) decides to write a memoir shortly after being fired from the CIA. Somehow a CD containing the memoirs ends up in the hands of the goofy duo of Chad (Pitt) and Linda Litzke (McDormand), two gym instructors who hope to blackmail Cox for a quick fortune that would pay for Linda’s cosmetic surgery, and that’s just piece of the chaos. Cox’s wife, Katie (Swinton) is having an affair with Harry Pfarrer (Clooney) and he’s involved with Linda. As film progresses things get out of hand as people are confronted, secrets are revealed and even the CIA and Russians get in on the action.
The Coens are very careful not to give too much away at one time. They tease the viewers and keep them in suspense as other characters come into the picture, which adds to film’s fun-factor. There’s never a dull moment and one can only sit and guess what will happen next and wait to see answers to the many questions that arise, like who’s spying on everyone, what does Harry have in the basement of his house and what would his wife think?
Besides its structure, the film showcases the talent of the cast, notably Brad Pitt portraying a bumbling gym instructor provides for some of film’s funniest moments. It’s nice to see him playing a goofy character for change, though I am a fan of many of his films. Malkovich is also impressive, especially since I feel he’s been a slump for a while. He bounces back similar to the way Tom Cruise did in Tropic Thunder, delivering one of the film’s better performances as he yells and curses throughout it. The supporting cast is also quite good with J.K. Simmons, David Rasche and Richard Jenkins providing strong comedic performances that keep things interesting and hilarious.
Once again the Coen’s have added another great film to their resume. From start to finish Burn After Reading delivers a huge amount of laughs within its 95-minute runtime. It’s without a doubt the funniest film I’ve seen this year and I predict a best original screenplay nomination in the Coen’s future.
Director: Joel & Ethan Coen
Cast: George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich & Tilda Swinton
Rating 5/5
Popularity: 43% [?]
October 1st, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I finally made it around to seeing this one, a strange and hilarious film. Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt were great together.