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 Tim Blake Nelson, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, Charles Durning, Michael Badalucco Tim Bevan, Ethan Coen, John Cameron, Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan Rated PG-13 for some violence and language RATING CANADA... Rated PG for some language and minor violence |
 Comedy Drama An incredible journey filled with awesome experiences and colorful characters. |
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Where to start? Well, first I must commend the Coen Brothers on another great film. Second, I have to commend the actors for gracing O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? with such superb performances. The Coen Brothers prove that good actors can be great actors, in the hands of talented directors. The Coens give us one of their usual stylized films. Tim Burton films stand out for his stylized sets. Like Burton, the Coen Brothers use characters that are just a stylzied. A Coen Brothers film stands out like a sore thumb among other films. Their characters are real life people, leading ordinary lives under extraordinary conditions. Why are they so good? Well the Brothers Coen seem to be able make a film about any region of the US and have all the actors sound and act like they are from those regions. Remember FARGO, MILLER'S CROSSING and BLOOD SIMPLE? They are all about regular people who act like regular people in interesting and extraordinary situations. The Brothers have great skill and getting the best out of actors. In O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU even George Clooney is good. He is different in this film, not like the usual characters he plays. He is really enjoyable here as Ulysses Everett McGill, the leader of a group of three escaped convicts. The story is loosely based on Homer's ODYSSEY. If you've read the epic or seen a TV mini series about Ulysses and his Odyssey you will easily see the similarities. The story takes place in the rural state of Mississippi during the depression. As the story opens we see a black and white striped road gang of convicts slinging those hammers against the rocks just like in those old black and white movies of the period. Three of the convicts have made an escape from the oppressive guards. The three men are Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney), Pete Hogwallop (John Turturro) and Delmar O’Donnel(Tim Blake Nelson). Everett is the literate smooth talking con man; Pete is the the street wise opportunist and Delmar is the slightly feeble brained but loveable everyman of the area. This film has all of the Odyssey's characters. Besides the hero and his companions, we have the blind narrator-prophet, sirens, a cyclops, criminals, lynch mobs and an evil government officials. Their mission is to reach Everett's old home to recover the buried loot he has hid after a heist. They must make their way their past many perils. The three are picked up by a blind, black prophet on a railway push car. He gives them a cryptic message and then they move on. They arrive at Pete's cousin's farm. He helps them out but the guards arrive to capture them by burning down the barn, but, fate steps in and they escape. Everett tells them that they have 4 days to get the buried loot of one and a half million dollars. If they do not get there in time the entire area will be buried under water at the site of a new dam. On their way they come across a large group going to the river to be baptized in hte water. Delmar decides to get baptized as well so that all his sins will be forgiven and the law will leave him alone. This is one of those excellent Coen Brother's tradmark scenes where we see a wonderful cross section of interesting character. At a crossroads, the gang picks up a young black musician who was waiting to sell his soul to the devil in exchange for musical talent. They take Tommy Johnson (Chris Thomas King) with them to a rural radio station run by a blind DJ played by Stephen Root. Root plays this character so beautifully with a great accent that you might have trouble recognizing him from his roles on NEWS RADIO, LADIES MAN and in the film OFFICE SPACE. He thinks they are an all black musical group so he lets them all sing on the radio and gives them some money. He has recorded the song to replay but he also wants to sign them to a contract. As they leave we meet Charles Durning as Governor Pappy O'Daniel who is running once again for Governor in the upcoming election. Later while resting around a campfire they discuss what they want to do with the money. Here we see that they are just regular Joes with average wants, food, land and hair creme. Aftera near miss with the prison guards they are picked up in a car by George "Baby Face" Nelson. In no time they are being shot at by the police. Nelson just loves shooting his machine guns but unfortunately does not watch the road. The next scene brought out a collective..."OOOOOH"... from the audience. No, I'm not spoiling this scene for you. Armed with dynamite Nelson takes the three along to a bank robbery. Later he seems dispondent and gives them all the money as he walks away from them. The radio station has been playing the Soggy Bottom Boys record and it has become so popular that a record promoter wants to sign them up. Yes the four boys picked that weird name at the radio station. Unknown to the gang the hunt is on to get these boys signed up to a big record contract as their record is selling out every where. Coming to another river they meet three beautiful sirens washing themslves in the water. They do not speak a word but they still mesmerize the boys with their singing. When they wake up the girls are gone and one of them undergoes a strange transformation. They make their way out of the forest to a fancy restaurant where they meet their cyclops, Big Dan Teague played by beautifully by John Goodman. He is a bible salesman with a really violent streak. Along the way the boys, staying one step ahead of the prison trackers, get involved in the political wranglings between Pappy O'Daniel and Homer Stokes (Wayne Duvall). They rescue Tommy Johnson from the Klu Klx Klan in a beautifully choreographed sequence. Everett meets up with his wife, played by Holly Hunter and their seven daughters and tries to stop her impending marriage. Baby Face finally gets what he wants. Yes there is lots of adventure until they are discovered to be the Soggy Bottom Boys at a political rally. The four actors perform great musical numbers as ZZ TOP lookalikes. They did not know that they had become a recording sensation. Everyone loves their song “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow”, even the Governor, who has a surprise for them. But wait, what about the money and the dam flooding. What about the posse that is after them.No, I didn't forget that part, I'm just not going to say anything about that, except to say that what happens is probably not expected. At the end, the railway push cart goes rolling by with the prophet having the final say. The Odyssey ends. The constant strains of blue grass music is always present in the background of this film. Of course it also takes center stage when The Soggy Bottom Boys strum their instruments in front of their appreciative audience. The music of course takes a back seat to the entertaining cast. The Coen's have picked their cast well especially in choosing Tim Blake Nelson to play the thick in the head Delmar. Clooney has never been as much fun to watch as he is in this movie. Turturro, is always good and he does not let anyone down in this picture. Hey, you know, on thinking back this film doesn't even have any plot holes that I noticed. Now their is a minor triumph on it's own. I should mention that Roger Deakin's photography treats us to wonderfully serene Mississippi images. It is certainly difficult to find any faults in this film. Movies from the Coen Brothers, all too often, are thought to border on being "art" films. O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? is probably as commercial as they can get. It is a good film for everyone who loves to go to movies. It's just as simple as that. |                   |
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