ENGAGING CULTURE

On The Horizon is a feature that takes a look at movies that are coming down the pipeline that I predict will be either critically successful or particularly interesting. This time of year, everyone is talking about all the summer blockbusters, but just after the summer buzz begins what I call the critical season. In the months of November and December, studios will release the films that they believe are most likely Oscar candidates. That means great stories and acting but usually fewer car chases and explosions. Burn After Reading is one such release from Focus Features.

The film centers on Osbourne Cox (Malkovich), who has hit a bit of rough patch. He was recently fired from the CIA and decides to write his memoirs, naturally documenting government secrets along the way. His wife (Swinton) decides to steal the material to use in their upcoming divorce proceedings, but the CD mistakenly ends up in the hands of two doltish gym employees, Chad (Pitt) and Linda (McDormand). In response to Linda and Chad conspiring to sell the material to help pay for Linda’s plastic surgery, the CIA dispatches Harry (Clooney) to sort it all out at whatever the cost.

Sounds like a cool story with lots of headliners… Uh oh, this could be a disaster, crash and burn, but luckily this film isn’t being handled by the average Hollywood squadron of writers and directors. No, this movie will be great, because the Coen brothers are behind the wheel.

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are four-time Academy Award winning American filmmakers. For more than twenty years, the pair have written and directed numerous successful films, ranging from screwball comedies (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Raising Arizona, and The Hudsucker Proxy) to film noir (Miller’s Crossing, Blood Simple, The Man Who Wasn’t There, and No Country for Old Men), to movies where genres blur together (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and Barton Fink). The brothers write, direct and produce their films jointly, although until recently Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing. They often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing film credits for editor under the alias Roderick P. Jaynes. They are known in the film business as “the two-headed director”, as they share such a similar vision of what their films are to be that actors say that they can approach either brother with a question and get the same answer.

These are the people that I want to leave in charge of creating a movie. They love movies and want to produce good great ones. I have full confidence that even with bad source material, which they don’t use, they could make a film 10 times better than What Happens in Vegas or other similar visual concoctions that Hollywood has recently coughed up.

Plus it has John Malkovich, and George Clooney who are two of my favorite actors, plus Brad Pitt who we know has good chemistry with Clooney (Oceans 11, 12, and 13). As for the female leads, Tilda Swinton, recent Oscar winner, and Joel’s wife, Frances McDormand, who was excellent in Fargo, aren’t exactly top shelf actresses. Though, come to think of it The Coen Brothers rarely use high powered female celebrities, the one major exception I can think of being their nearly mainstream 2003 release, Intolerable Cruelty with the selection of Catherine Zeta-Jones. Their films are very actor driven usually with a strong male lead. Or as in No Country for Old Men, several strong male leads.

Also, Roger Deakins, a key figure in the brothers’ circle over the 15 years since Barton Fink will not be joining them as Director of Photography because he had already commitment to shooting Revolutionary Road But their replacement, the four-time Oscar nominated, Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men, Sleepy Hollow, and Ali), is fully capable to fill Deakins rather large shoes and make the Coen’s story beautiful. They will be joined yet again by the amazing Carter Burwell, who has provided music for every film they have made.

I’m very excited about this film, and since IMDB is showing it as completed, we should expect a trailer within the next month or so. What do you think about the Coen brothers, am I way off? Do you hate them because you are a liberal feminist? Sound off in the comments.