R E V I E W S
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Starring: George
Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly
Hunter Studio: Touchstone Pictures Review Posted: 2.4.01 Rating: 7/10
By Stephen.
"Thou art funny and original"
The Coen Brothers have made great movies. Their movie before this one, The Big Lebowski, was one hell of a fun ride! Their latest, Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, is also fun, but not as great. It does have its moments, but overall moves slower than I thought. However, one thing is for sure. The Coen Brothers know exactly what music to use in their movies.
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? is loosely based on Homer's 'Odyssey.' It takes place in 1930's Mississippi. Escaped from a chain gang, Everett Ulysses McGill (George Clonney) and his two companions Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson), the dimwitted one, and Pete (John Turturro), the somewhat more intellectual one, are out to recover a buried loot of a bank heist. However, right after the breakout, they meet a blind prophet, called Little Man (NAME), who warns them that "the treasure you seek shall not be the treasure you find."
They're spending the night over at Pete's friend's barn. But, he ratted them out for the ransom money, and so they must flee from the coppers. And Everett is in a tight spot, damn it. A quite funny run-on joke, by the way. On the road with Pete's friend's car, they pick up Tommy (Chris Tommy King), an African-American guitarist. He tells them he sold his soul to the Devil. They quickly record a song at an outsider radio station and collect some dough, not aware that their song becomes a nationwide favorite soon after.
Everett, Delmar and Pete continue their search for the lost treasure, and along the way, meet coppers, a cyclops (John Goodman), bank robber George "Babyface" Nelson (Michael Badalucco), a campaigning Governor (Charles Durning), and his opponent (NAME); a KKK lynch mob. Everett is also trying to get back with his wife (Holly Hunter), who told her kids that daddy fell off a train. When she counts to three, it's all downhill from there.
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? is beautifully shot in grainy colors, mostly bright yellow. It's also beautifully directed, acted, and written. It's original, as well. To make a movie set in the early 1930s is quite challenging I imagine, and I think the Coen Brothers have succeeded admirably in doing so. The dialogue is witty, sometimes heavily accented and kind of hard to understand.
The characters are all likeable. George Clooney, though clearly not his best ever, and the rest of the cast all turn in very nice performances. The only problem was the amount of time it took to get to the end. Not as much what the story, but the flow of it. We get introduced to Dapper Dan and hairnets, nice ladies, and much more. It was fun to watch with all the nice music along the way. The end was pretty interesting ("I told you they was flooding the valley") and hilarious; "What your riding, Tommy?" asks Everett. "Roll-top desk." Classic.
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