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Burn After Reading Stars: George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins and J. K. Simmons Directors/Scriptwriters: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Composer: Carter Burwell Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki Studio Canal/Working Title Rating: R for language, adult themes and violence Running Length: 95 minutes Do you miss Frances McDormand’s performance from Fargo? Remember the calm, methodical way she calculated how a crime was committed? Here comes a close second, as Frances calculates her way through a crime with some over-the-top hysterics thrown in. Along for the ride are George Clooney as her new boyfriend, Brad Pitt as her work partner in a health club, Richard Jenkins as the owner of the health club, John Malkovich as the government agent they are trying to blackmail, Tilda Swinton as John’s wife and J. K. Simmons as the CIA agent who is trying to sort through this situation. What situation? The one created by the fertile minds of filmmakers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. The subtitle for Burn After Reading could be called Nothing Is As It Seems. The Coen Brothers won an Academy Award for adapting No Country For Old Men to the screen. There may be a nomination in sight for this original screenplay, too. Nothing is as it seems and just when you think you have it figured out, a character does something unusual and throws a wrench in the mix. The story is about couples who appear happily married but are actually having affairs and plotting divorces. It really is an adult film. You don’t know who is following you, someone from a government agency, or a process server. George Clooney seems happily married to a novelist on tour, has Tilda Swinton as a mistress, but still frequents an online dating service and hooks up with Frances McDormand. Frances is obsessed with getting cosmetic surgery, though her boss (Richard Jenkins) doesn’t think she needs it and is clearly smitten with her. Frances works with Chad (Brad Pitt) who gives an enlightened performance as a guy without a care in the world except his iPod. When John Malkovich loses his government job, decides to write his memoirs and then loses his notes, things speed up. Brad finds the notes and he and Frances decide to blackmail John. The word inept comes to mind. John’s wife is Tilda, and when he is out of work, she is out the door. Into the mix comes the Soviets, the American government and even a car chase by Frances. Guess playing a Fargo sheriff paid off. Just when you think you can follow the path a character will take, they veer off and interact with someone else. Shades of Six Degrees of Separation. Burn After Reading ends up being a clever, dark comedy film with unexpected violence. Clooney as a treasury man who never fires his gun turns in a sharp performance as a ladies man who does love the ladies. Frances McDormand, drags Brad Pitt into a life of crime and the two offer us crime as a farce, complete with Brad trying to sneak into a house and Frances going to the Soviets as Plan B. John Malkovich steals his scenes as a man driven into a menacing manner when his world turns upside down a few times, not just once. Tilda Swinton continues being the cool businesswoman from Michael Clayton and she and Clooney are quite the pair. Richard Jenkins as the hapless health club owner follows his heart, but is that the right thing to do, after all? J. K. Simmons (the “Spider-Man” films) at the end of the scenes, tries to summarize what is going on as he understands it. The Coens do something clever, too, as when dramatic events occur, they are off-camera, so we hear about them, thus visualizing the event in our minds which can be better than what Hollywood can do. There is a great deal going on in Burn After Reading and you see that some people lead lives of deceit as just the way things are. It wouldn’t occur to them to do anything else. Marriage vows are just words, and actions mean calling up your mistress or boyfriend for a fling. The rest of the world is collateral damage. The Coens have quite an eye for this. Copyright 2008 Marie Asner
The Coen brothers follow up their Oscar winning film, No Country for Old Men, with a dark, oddball, comedy that some will call a smart move and others a waste of talent. And if any film had an onslaught of talent, it is this one. Unfortunately, more times than not, that spells disaster. I wanted this film to be exceptional. I wanted something that would have the lineage and staying power of a Fargo, Raising Arizona or The Big Labowski. The problem I had is that Burn After Reading is random, thin plotted writing that works only because of the expert acting of the cast. The story is simple enough. Two average citizens (Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt) find what the think are important government spy files. When they try to blackmail the owner of the files (John Malkovich) it sets off a chain of mistaken identity and hilarious misunderstandings. And there you have it. That is pretty much it. There really are no good guys or bad guys. They all have their faults. So you don’t get to choose sides but instead just hang on for the ride. I kept hoping for at least some depth of plot and the lack of left me slightly disappointed. Many people will love this movie just because it is The Coen Brothers and there is the need to feel like you have to rave about it or you are out of touch and unhip. I will let you off the hook now and allow you to see this with an open mind and decide for yourself. But feel free to hate it. It is ok if you do. Granted it is not terrible film and I found myself laughing loudly at times. As I mentioned, the acting alone is worth the price of admission and here is why that makes this film more appealing than it would be normally. George Clooney. What would a Coen comedy be without Clooney? This time around he plays a sex crazed ladies man with comparison to his roles in Intolerable Cruelty and Oh Brother. He shows again why there is more to him than just looking good in a suit. John Malkovich. His ability to exude anger and fury makes for volatile intensity. Malkovich has always been one of the best character actors and goes full tilt in this one. Tilda Swinton. No one has the neurotic nature of Tilda. She can breathe ice crystals when need be and has a killing stare that is matched by no other. Throw her in a triangle with Johns brooding and Clooney’s charm and she shines as always. Then there is Brad Pitt. If you have seen any of the previews you know that this is one of the most peculiar roles Pitt has ever done. He plays a gym trainer who is amped about everything. A good natured guy with very little brains. I wish I could say that he was hilarious but most of the time I felt I was watching Brad try to be funny. Instead of developing his character, he was always Brad Pitt. While everyone else was acting, Pitt was just being Pitt being a goofball. And I didn’t meld for me. Sorry little buddy. Burn After Reading is rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence. It is a dark comedy at times and though you laugh a lot, it isn’t feel good by any means. Bottom line, I think this movie will appeal to fans of the Coen’s and those who will suffer through drivel and plot holes in order to witness amazingly talented actors. If you only care about story and content, you might as well burn this now instead of later. It is a little over 90 minutes and I have to wonder if it would have been better given a few more minutes of depth. I only give it 3 out of 5 gliding chairs and that is solely for the performance of the cast. Nothing more. Matt Mungle (9/10/08) Matt is a member of the North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) and hosts a daily online talk show along with a weekend radio feature, The Mungles on Movies, with his wife Cindy. For additional reviews, interview clips and great DVD giveaways, visit the website www.mungleshow.com
Review copyright 2008 Mungleshow Productions. Used by Permission.
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