Doomsday's Andrei Tarkovsky Love Fest

1. Fargo (1994)


This film is brilliant, but when I try to figure out why, I'm left a bit dumbfounded. It's clearly got a great cast, but the story is almost cliché and the cinematography consists of snow and bars.

I guess Fargo is the movie that most expertly displays the Coens ability to write a screenplay where things go from simple to complex and irrational. And in Fargo, almost every turn where something goes wrong, it comes out of greed. It was many viewings of this movie before I noticed that Buscemi was killed over a matter of $40,000 that he wouldn't give to Stormare when he had $750,000 back in the case.

And then there's McDormand's character to bring it all together and serve as the Voice of Reason. Everyone in the movie is so miserable or sad except for her, and the movie takes its time to show us how simple and boring her life is.

Also, the movie's got a perfect dry wit.


****/****


2. True Grit (2010)


I love this movie more every time I see it. It has an amazing cast of characters that are wonderfully acted, great cinematography, dialogue, and plenty of great scenes dotted throughout the film. Jeff Bridges is perfect as Rooster Cogburn and Hailee Steinfeld is wonderful as Mattie. At only 14 she has shown her acting chops and was particularly great in the early scene involving the bargaining for her horses. Bridges proves to be a great choice during his first scene in the courtroom and basically every other scene he's in. Matt Damon's OK, too.

What keeps me coming back to this film, though, is the final 20 minutes or so. There's a great battle between Cogburn and four bad guys that acts as sort of a Swan Song for him and he later proves just how devoted he is to Mattie and his sense of duty when he does everything humanly possible to get her back home alive. Truly one of the best Coen films.


****/****



3. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)


I'm surprised I don't hear more about this Coen gem - it might just be the funniest Coen brothers film, right up there with "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and "Burn After Reading."

This movie is Brazil meets The Producers meets Zucker and Abrams. It has a plot similar to The Producers, the style and subject matter of Brazil, and the zaniness of Zucker/Abrahms comedies. The cast is wonderful, especially Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Paul Newman (even the elevator operator is hilarious.)

The movie is just filled with hilarious sequences such as this collection of scenes where everyone is laughing after the hiring of Robbins as president which is genius in its own insane way, and there's also one of my favorite things ever where for about 5 minutes we follow the design, naming (Extruded Plastic Dingus), testing, production and release of the Hula Hoop (you know, for kids.)

Though as much as I love this movie, I have a major complaint. I hate the ending. I hate that the clock guy / narrator / God stops time to save Robbins' life. I'm really not sure what they were thinking with this one.


***.5/****



4. A Serious Man (2009)


A Serious Man might be the Coens' most intellectually challenging film and I'm starting to get a good grasp on it.
Larry Gopnik is a pretty normal guy who follows the rules and is on the cusp of getting a life that he wants. But suddenly he has trouble with his wife and job, and he begins to question his faith and life in general. What's really interesting about this film to me is that Larry is a physics teacher. The movie is filled with examples where the search for life's mysteries is compared to the exactness of math and physics. That's Larry's problem though, life is NOT math. There's a scene where he's teaching his students about the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment where a cat inside of a box may or not be dead and is therefore both dead and alive at the same time. Of all the physics experiments, this movie chose the one that involves uncertainty and paradox. Later he's arguing with a student who is trying to bribe him and he's saying he understands the "stories", but Larry responds "yes, but you don't understand the math! You can't understand physics without the math!" When Larry says that actions have consequences, the student replies with something that also doubles as a quip, "Yes, sometimes." The student seems to understand the world better than Larry Gopnik.

The movie is just full of these examples. Also fascinating is the uncle who is trying to solve the universe's probabilities with what he calls "The Mentaculus" (which works to get him money gambling, but arrested), and there's the brilliant story of the Goy's teeth, which basically tells us life is weird and the only way you're going to get through it is not to worry. The movie also has great dry humor to it throughout the whole movie.

I will admit I'm still not sure if I get the ending, though. Knowing the Coen brothers, my best guess is it's supposed to be ironic. Larry finally decides to change the grade of the student who was bribing him, and at this very moment he gets a call about bad medical news and his son and his entire class is about to be wiped out by a tornado. This is a perfect example of Karma, but the rest of the movie appears to be saying that there is no rhyme or reason to morality, God or fate...despite a Tornado being an "act of God." It also seems noteworthy that the tornado is about to hit his son even though he's finally paying back the bully for his pot. Perhaps he was too late? Perhaps "shit happens?" I'm not quite sure, but I love this movie.


***.5/****



5. The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)


Typically I haven't been a big fan of film noir, but there's something about this one that hits the right chords with me. There's a lot more to this plot than most in the genre, as can be expected from the Coens, and the main character goes through a lot of changes instead of a day described in voiceover about some dame. However, I think going with this genre ultimately hurts it from being TRUELY great. The events in this movie change the lead character's life quite considerably and this is shown with poignant voice-overs, but he's so stoic throughout the movie that I have trouble believing that HE believes these things that he's saying.

Like most Coen films, this one is full of ever-expanding complexities born from misunderstandings and crime. Unfortunately, this one borrows a bit too much from Blood Simple, but it helps to ignore that. It expands on the use of complicated murders to an ultimate point where many people pay for a crime, but not their own. This is but one of this movie's delicious ironies.

Perhaps most interesting about this movie is Scarlett Johansson's role. Only 17 in this movie, her character Birdy provides an innocent distraction for Ed (Billy Bob Thorton) as all of this crap is going on around him. In the first half of this movie, Ed is pursuing an investment in dry cleaning, and after that goes south, Birdy becomes his new investment. He acts as a father figure and persuades her to pursue her talent as a pianist. She plays a Beethoven song for him which by no coincidence is the composer of most of the movie's soundtrack. This goes horribly wrong as well after Birdy makes advances on him. More irony, but also one more thing in a never-ending line of things being taken away from him. Ultimately, he is left with nothing.


***.5/****



6. Burn After Reading (2008)


Burn After Reading is one of those films you have to watch more than once; I've heard this from a few people. The weird and brilliant thing about this movie is that it's a silly satire that takes itself very seriously, and it may take a second viewing to get behind that. It's a spy thriller, but with missing pieces, idiots, and utter and complete ignorance. Though what really sells this as a "serious" movie is the directing and dramatic score.

Noteworthy is the amazing cast, led by Clooney, Pitt, McDormand and Malkovich. Every one of them are out of their comfort zone and brilliant...except for maybe Malkovich, who's just brilliant. Pitt and McDormand are really great together.

And through all the wackiness, the movie still has some poignancy. Its clear McDormand's character was in need of a fantasy to distract her from her crippling love life. In fact, the whole movie has this weird theme of fantasy vs. reality. The great thing about the movie is McDormand and Pitt's fantasy of how the government works.

I also have to mention one of favorite moments in any Coen brothers film, and that's when Clooney gets upset and passionately attacks and destroys the masturbation chair. This is the quintessence of the M.O of the movie, to have complete ridiculousness filmed in serious manners.



"Report back to me when it...I don't know, makes sense."


***.5/****




7. Blood Simple. (1984)


“Blood Simple” is a low-key, but engaging thriller. Even before things start hitting the fan, there is a cool, but eerie nervousness to all of the scenes. It drags a little bit after Marty dies, but makes up for it with an intense ending.

I love the “twist” at the end where after shooting the detective Abby says “I’m not afraid of you, Marty,” revealing that for this whole scene she thought she was fighting her dead husband. Even in the Coen Brothers’ debut, many of their common themes were already present. There’s murder, money, but also a comedic sense of confusion among characters and plot. (This theme is most evident in “Burn After Reading”). Ray kills Abby’s husband in horrible fashion by burying him alive, but this all stemmed from him mistakenly assuming Abby tried to kill him earlier.


***.5/****



8. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)


I remembered this film being funnier, also, but it's still quite solid. There are many good-to-great scenes in a row, particularly their encounter with John Goodman, "Baby Face" Nelson, and the Sirens. The soundtrack is a big plus too, especially if you like folk music. But most of all, there's just a nice mix of influences and filmmaking in this one that allows it to be very enjoyable.



"We - thought - you - was - a - toad!"


***/****



9. The Big Lebowski (1998)


This movie has undeniable charm, but I don't understand its cult status. Don't get me wrong, there are some brilliant scenes. The opening credits are pretty neat, the scene where The Dude and Walter confront the kid is hilarious ("DO YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS, LARRY?!"), and the best scene is the bowling sequence for "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)." Speaking of music, there are some great choices such as the Spanish "Hotel California" and "The Man in Me" by Bob Dylan during the credits and the scene where The Dude is flying over the city.

However, barring those scene and a few good jokes here and there, I just don't think the movie is that funny. In addition to that, Walter is a very unlikeable character as well are a few other supporting characters. Also, I can't tell if Sam Elliott's character is supposed to be satire or is just really pretentious. Either way, I don't like his inclusion.


***/****



10. Raising Arizona (1987)

Raising Arizona is one of those movies I always remember as being better. In reality it’s an uneven movie with some great and funny scenes here and there, but also some dull and weak moments. There’s also this pure Coen absurdist touch involving the lone biker I really like, but even his role doesn’t fit into the movie as well as it could have. I think the mistake was later revealing him as an actual character that was hired for a job. Personally, I think they should have kept him on the side of fantasy and symbolism.


***/****



11. No Country For Old Men


You look at directors like Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock and the Coen brothers, to name a few, and it doesn't take long to realize all of their movies are kind of the same (among similar directors, I mean). The trick to making hit after hit is not allowing the viewer to notice all the similarities to the previous movies. No Country For Old Men does not do this.

No Country For Old Men is Fargo meets The Terminator. Only this time the characters aren't near as interesting. Tommy Lee Jones plays the part of Francis McDormand as the neutral cop who overlooks everything going on in the movie, the sin and greed, and shakes their head. I don't think this movie is as deep as it would like to be. All it says about sin and fate has been said before in better ways, occasionally by the Coen brothers. Also, the idea that every age is worse than the last in respect to crime, sin and apathy is a myth. There have always been homicidal psychopaths.

There are however some great scenes, such as the time when Llewelyn finds the aftermath of the drug shootout, and the battle between him and Chigurh at the hotel where we almost never see the shooter.


**.5/****



12. The Ladykillers (2004)


The Ladykillers is a comedy that mostly relies on physical humor which is a bit hit and miss. Missing are jokes about IBS, and hitting is an ever changing painting. While the writing might be sub-par by Coen standards, the thing this movie has going for it are the characters. Namely Tom Hanks who further proves he can do anything. This is such an odd Coen movie in that it must have more swearing than all their other movies combined, and yet this is going on along with Hanks' character who is very articulate and well-spoken. This movie could have been a lot worse.


**.5/****



13. Miller’s Crossing (1990)


For a good portion of the first half of this movie it's very talky and there's a lot of names thrown around which can be a bit confusing and off-putting for someone like me who is slow to pick up on names. But the second half is more interesting, especially with some key scenes involving the under-appreciated John Turturro.

The main character is kind of dull, however he gets beat up every five minutes, which I guess is something. Also, there's some theme about hats; I guess they symbolize something.

Overall, I find this Coen piece to be pretty average. It's sort of a Noir gangster film, and I don't like noir...or gangster films.



**.5/****



14. Barton Fink (1991)


This movie has always seemed pretty thin to me. There are some recognizable themes such as the irony of Fink's dissasociation with the common man, and there's insane themes where I wouldn't know where to start with. Barton Fink is an interesting character, I'll give it that, but to me the movie is pretty boring.

I feel like if someone explained to me what the hell was going on with this movie and the ending, I would say "Oh, OK, that's clever" and still feel the same way about it.



*.5/****




15. Intolerable Cruelty (2003)


Very few laughs in this Coen comedy about gold diggers. Even the twist is pretty damn obvious before it happens. George Clooney is pretty good in this, the Coen's get a lot out of him in their movies, but not even he could save the script.

On a side note, it's weird that Clooney is once again in love with a woman who walks down steps in a Vegas casino in a red dress admired from afar. Only it's the lead in Ocean's 12 this time, not Ocean's 11.



*.5/****