My Coen Brothers Top Ten — Vol 8.
After watching Fargo for the first time and going in search of that buried suitcase full of cash from a long ago Coen Brothers past, I’ve been enchanted by their movies in a multitude of beautiful ways, one of which is my own obsession with self as well as the filmmaking masters from Minnesota. You see, the characters they pen, be they a used car salesman being hounded by a pregnant Police Detective, a stoner with a misplaced heart of gold or a rather lost soul surrounded by smiling people discussing his impending divorce, they’ve always resonated deeply with me and over time, I’ve played my very own Coen Brothers game with every new cinematic release.
The game? Who will I see playing me on the cinema screen this time.
And boy am I Ed Crane here!
Long wistful looks into a distance I’m apathetically non-plussed with. Disconnected. Watching life from afar. A visitor in someone else’s life. Watching the watchers. Lighting another cigarette.
Long wistful looks into a distance I’m apathetically non-plussed with.
I’m Ed Crane.
Fortunately, Billy Bob Thornton is a far better actor than I am writer, and this is also reflected in the decade old review of The Man Who Wasn’t There reproduced in full below. My musings on this film form part of a much larger whole on the entire career of the Coen Brothers at the time of writing (linked below) and as such, I penned this appraisal as more of a brief character study of Ed Crane rather than the film as a whole. I always endeavour to pen any film reviews in a slightly different fashion every time, hence the concentration on Billy Bob Thornton here, but deep as my obsession goes for all things Coen Brothers, I’ll re-write this original appraisal some day as I haven’t done this magnificent film much justice.
But I highly recommend it to you!
As I do the opus hour length reading that is my Coen Brothers article immediately linked below.
The world according to the Coen Brothers
“Blood Simple” in 1984 through to “Hail, Caesar!” in 2016. And 15 beautifully crafted films in between. Spoiler free.medium.com
“Me, I don’t talk much…I just cut the hair”.
Set in 1949 and completely in Black and White, this is film noir in every sense, from the constant use of light and dark shadows throughout the story of “Ed Crane”, and a disaffected and alienated character at odds with the world that surrounds him.
“Ed Crane” (Billy Bob Thornton) A career high performance from Billy Bob Thornton as the disaffected and apathetic barber Ed Crane. A slow, methodical and still performance perfectly encapsulating Ed’s distance from a world he doesn’t understand and from a world he doesn’t want to be a part of. Against a busy backdrop of people and chattering conversations his vacant stare is continually evident at a world in general he simply seems to have given up on despite a successful career and seeming home life. This is Billy Bob Thornton’s film from start to finish as we follow his every move and he’s in nearly every scene of the film. He is captivating as Crane, cigarette perennially dangling from his mouth, blank, cold expression, so alienated from the world.
Thornton’s performance is mesmerising.
His poise and detached performance grab your attention and keep you involved in the film throughout. Though minimal actual dialogue, which is obviously deliberate, we see the film through his eyes and expressions whilst he also narrates the film throughout. A simple ransom premise turns much darker very quickly, yet despite being at the centre of a mess he created, Ed remains detached and unblinking, and if you watch closely enough, often deliberately so. His tale of disconnection and almost ghost like living is also reinforced by the bizarre UFO scene and interaction towards the end of the film which is totally out of keeping with the film. Or is it? It’s a haunting and beautiful portrayal, of light blended with a lot of dark and Billy Bob Thornton in true career best mode.
Frances McDormand returns again in a Coen Brothers film, this time as “Doris” Ed Crane’s exuberant and outgoing wife, having an affair with “Big Dave” played excellently by James Gandolfini. “Creighton Tolliver”, a venture capitalist seeking investment is superbly played by Jon Polito, and there’s an excellent early cameo performance from a young Scarlett Johansson as “Birdy”. One further stand out performance belongs to Tony Shalhoub as “Freddy Riedenschneider” a fast talking and utterly bizarre Defence Lawyer. Each performance seemingly flits around the central performance of Billy Bob Thornton, each with the differing reactions and results, each adding to further unseen plot twists.
The simple premise of an illegal idea going wrong is a staple Coen Brothers theme and here the premise is simple enough: Aware of his wife’s affair with Big Dave, Ed pressures Big Dave into paying a $10,000 ransom to stop word of the affair reaching his own wife and family. However, Big Dave is totally unaware that Ed instigated the ransom in the first place, and following an investment with Venture Capitalist Creighton Tolliver, the story quickly winds to the film’s first of many twists. Backed by a beautiful musical score which mixes both original pieces from returning music collaborator Carter Burwell and numerous Beethoven piano pieces, some of which are played by the reluctant child prodigy Birdy, this is a subtle and dark comedy in places, but a typical Coen Brothers thriller movie overall.
Another continuing theme of the Coen Brothers is the use of fractured, yet distinct dialogue from the locals in the screenplay. Deliberately so, the conversations are “localised” but are also quirky and a language all of their own. The black and white and stylised noir feel to the film is evident throughout with the constant theme of shadows and light and dark brilliantly captured by Director of Photography Roger Deakins who yet again garnered an Oscar nomination but did not win. Together with the constant lighting effects, Deakins and both Directors should also be lauded for their close up camera angles used constantly on Billy Bob Thornton, seemingly forever capturing his thunderous performance just below eye level and with Thornton staring into the distance.
Myopic and wholly biased, but this is a real treat of a Coen Brothers film.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 180 blog articles (with 350+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
“V for Vendetta” (2005)
A cinematic debut for the ages from James McTeigue.medium.com
“Miller’s Crossing” (1990)
My Coen Brothers Top Ten — Vol 7.medium.com
“Nocturnal Animals” (2016)
“Enjoy the absurdity of our world”.medium.com