RETRO REVIEW
"Yessir, the South is gonna change. Everything's gonna be put on electricity and run on a paying basis. Out with old spiritual mumbo-jumbo, the superstition and the backward ways. We're gonna see a brave new world where they run everyone a wire and hook us all up to the grid. Yessir, a veritable age of reason - like they had in France. And not a moment too soon..."
- Everett McGill, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
There are probably no other directors that can skillfully jump from comedy to drama and back like the Coen Brothers. From Blood Simple to their newest film - Hail, Caesar! - their filmography is unique in that there are no sequels, no movies based on comic books/toys/television series and only few remakes (The Ladykillers and True Grit). Together, much of their filmography has become cult favorite films: Raising Arizona, The Hudsucker Proxy and, of course, The Big Lebowski. However, in my mind, the one movie they have made that a lot of people loved and seemed to have forgotten about is my favorite of theirs: a movie inspired by Homer's "The Odyssey" but set in 1930s Mississippi, a land full of obstacles, misadventures and weary miles - the folksy and funny O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Prolific conman Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) breaks out of a chain gang with two fellow convicts: the temperamental Pete (John Turturro) and the dim Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson). Everett has promised Pete and Delmar a share in a treasure he had hidden away just before he was incarcerated. They are always at each other's wit's end with Everett annoying Pete and Delmar with his highfalutin way of communicating. As they travel through the "Great State of Mississippi", they find themselves in the midst of very strange mishaps: accidentally joining up with bank robber George Nelson (Michael Badalucco), becoming famous folk singers, ambushed by a rather large faux Bible salesman (John Goodman) and seduced by a trio of heavenly Sirens. Eventually, Everett reveals there is no treasure and that he simply needed their help to escape and that his real goal is to win back the love of his wife (Holly Hunter), who has promised to marry another man (Ray McKinnon). Despite all the trouble they have gotten into, Pete and Delmar agree to help. But little do they realize that a ruthless lawman (Daniel von Bargen) has been chasing them and is closer than ever before.
This film is down-home feel good and charming. It is absolutely hilarious from beginning to end and its cast shines with the homespun dialogue of the Coens. George Clooney's performance of Everett is fun as he gets to play a guy who is not as smart as he thinks. It plays well off of the relatively dumb characters of Pete and Delmar who are both lovable in their own way. You cannot help but laugh at Pete's line, "Oh, George... not the livestock." The supporting cast, including Coen mainstays Holly Hunter and John Goodman, are well-tailored to each of their roles. By the way, that's Academy Award winner Ray McKinnon as Vernon T. Waldrip, the man after Penny's heart (not to mention he also appears in Craig Brewer's Footloose). I especially like Charles Durning as Pappy O'Daniel who does nothing but scream at his election team which is solely made up of his dumb son and his inept campaign managers. ("Thank God your mammy died givin' birth. If she'd have seen you, she'd have died o' shame.")
At the time the film was released, the most-talked about element of the film was its music. The homey bluegrass music launched a mini-phenomenon around the soundtrack, which led to a separate concert film, Down from the Mountain, hosted by Holly Hunter and featuring artists from the film (filmed at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN; the home of the "Grand Ole Opry"). The song that led the way was the unbelievably catchy "Man of Constant Sorrow" performed in-movie by the Soggy Bottom Boys. George Clooney has said that he did, in fact, record the song live on set but was replaced in post by Dan Tyminski. In fact, when the film swept the Grammys, Tim Blake Nelson was the only actor from the film to receive a Grammy Award for his performance of "In the Jailhouse Now". Another great tune from the film is the hynoptic "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby", performed by the Sirens. How could you not be tempted by those ladies singing that song?
It is no secret that the film was inspired wholesale by "The Odyssey" written by Homer. The Coens have said they never really read the story outside of junior high school and were mostly influenced by its structure. Everett's first name, Ulysses, is the true name of the hero (also translated as Odysseus). John Goodman's character, Big Dan Teague, is the film's take on the infamous evil Cyclops that tortures Homer's heroes. Everett's gang is sent on their trip by way of a mysterious blind man who is Tiresias the Oracle of the film's story. Penny and her suitor Vernon T. Waldrip relate to Penelope (Odysseus' wife) and her many, many suitors during Odysseus' journey home.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? may not have taken the world by storm for very long (aside from being the first film to have digital intermediate work done to achieve its specific period Southern look; D.I. work is now commonplace in films today), but it is a film that does not deserve to be forgotten. It is quick, hysterical and sweet, as only the Coens can create. They take these small characters and put them in this larger than life story in a place and time few alive day experienced. Pull up a chair, slap some Dapper Dan in your hair (NOT FOP), and start picking a guitar. You'll find your accompaniment quite thoroughly enjoyable.
This film is down-home feel good and charming. It is absolutely hilarious from beginning to end and its cast shines with the homespun dialogue of the Coens. George Clooney's performance of Everett is fun as he gets to play a guy who is not as smart as he thinks. It plays well off of the relatively dumb characters of Pete and Delmar who are both lovable in their own way. You cannot help but laugh at Pete's line, "Oh, George... not the livestock." The supporting cast, including Coen mainstays Holly Hunter and John Goodman, are well-tailored to each of their roles. By the way, that's Academy Award winner Ray McKinnon as Vernon T. Waldrip, the man after Penny's heart (not to mention he also appears in Craig Brewer's Footloose). I especially like Charles Durning as Pappy O'Daniel who does nothing but scream at his election team which is solely made up of his dumb son and his inept campaign managers. ("Thank God your mammy died givin' birth. If she'd have seen you, she'd have died o' shame.")
At the time the film was released, the most-talked about element of the film was its music. The homey bluegrass music launched a mini-phenomenon around the soundtrack, which led to a separate concert film, Down from the Mountain, hosted by Holly Hunter and featuring artists from the film (filmed at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN; the home of the "Grand Ole Opry"). The song that led the way was the unbelievably catchy "Man of Constant Sorrow" performed in-movie by the Soggy Bottom Boys. George Clooney has said that he did, in fact, record the song live on set but was replaced in post by Dan Tyminski. In fact, when the film swept the Grammys, Tim Blake Nelson was the only actor from the film to receive a Grammy Award for his performance of "In the Jailhouse Now". Another great tune from the film is the hynoptic "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby", performed by the Sirens. How could you not be tempted by those ladies singing that song?
It is no secret that the film was inspired wholesale by "The Odyssey" written by Homer. The Coens have said they never really read the story outside of junior high school and were mostly influenced by its structure. Everett's first name, Ulysses, is the true name of the hero (also translated as Odysseus). John Goodman's character, Big Dan Teague, is the film's take on the infamous evil Cyclops that tortures Homer's heroes. Everett's gang is sent on their trip by way of a mysterious blind man who is Tiresias the Oracle of the film's story. Penny and her suitor Vernon T. Waldrip relate to Penelope (Odysseus' wife) and her many, many suitors during Odysseus' journey home.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? may not have taken the world by storm for very long (aside from being the first film to have digital intermediate work done to achieve its specific period Southern look; D.I. work is now commonplace in films today), but it is a film that does not deserve to be forgotten. It is quick, hysterical and sweet, as only the Coens can create. They take these small characters and put them in this larger than life story in a place and time few alive day experienced. Pull up a chair, slap some Dapper Dan in your hair (NOT FOP), and start picking a guitar. You'll find your accompaniment quite thoroughly enjoyable.
No comments:
Post a Comment