film

burn after reading

dir: joel & ethan coen cast: george clooney, brad pitt, frances mcdormand out now, 95 mins
Synopsis: Two gym co-workers, Chad (Pitt) and Linda (McDormand) discover a disc of what they assume to be precious intelligence lost by CIA-man Osbourne Cox (Malkovich). The chaotic journey that follows is a string of sex, lies, paranoia and some very funky treadmill-dancing.
ollowing on from noteworthy critical acclaim and Oscar success with your last motion picture is never going to be particularly easy. Especially when your next cinematic treat is billed as "a high stakes, low life, mid-level CIA thriller" with some of Hollywood's finest names lining

up to star as some of your most moronic characters yet. And yet the Coens have apparently done it again: they've taken a film that will leave you both bewildered and baffled, though with a perhaps unsatisfying end, and made it a genius piece of commentary on the stupidity of humanity and the subtlety of consumerism. Both Clooney and McDormand's performances are completely magnetising, but it is Pitt's Gatoradeswilling, iPod-shuffling Chad who steals the show with sweeping hilarity and wonderful parody of his public persona. Malkovich and Swinton also perform with near moronic-perfection, but it is the lack of heart that makes it so difficult to really relate to any of these characters. Without any real sense of attachment, there is a distinct emptiness at the film's core that is hard to shake off. But then again, perhaps this is the point. Many critics have complained that Burn After Reading has not much to say about anything at all, but arguably its true brilliance lies in

its ability to give the impression that this is the case. In reality, this dark half-comedy, half-thriller has a lot to say about contemporary society and the apparent losers who live within it, shamelessly exploiting others for their own personal gain and aimlessly bumbling through life with only material possessions or sex as a mark of satisfaction. That said, the Coens' story, pointless as it may or may not be, is wonderfully funny and beautifully constructed, underpinned with flashes of comic violence and a truly terrific script. By the end, there is a slight uneasy feeling of pointlessness to the whole affair that is hard to overcome: instead all that is left is confusion and stupidity - a hangover left by our own society. And therein lies the genius of Burn After Reading. It may be a pointless tale of stupidity, but it is the most intelligent, amusing ones you will see in a very, very long time. Francesca Jarvis

52 /film@gairrhydd.com

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LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN

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Just 9 months after the release of Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men, Francesca Jarvis takes a look at how the Coen brothers managed to turn Hollywood's elite into grade-A jerks in spectacular style.
Bear in mind this is the same man who appeared in the hard-hitting thrillers Syriana and Michael Clayton, and the parody becomes even more wickedly ironic. On top of George's Harry, the Coens butcher one of Clooney's most famous A-List buddies: Mr Brad Pitt. Appearing as Chad Feldheimer, Pitt epitomises 'Doofus' in every sense of the word. The two, put together, are as far removed from their Oceans Trilogy characters as perhaps physically possible: Chad has impossibly bad hair, a hyperactive nature, an evil stare that leaves much to be desired and a brain the size of a chickpea. Harry is similarly as redundant, sports a sleazy gold chain and has stock chat-up lines. It's pure Coen idiocy gold, and it works tremendously. It is enormously refreshing to witness two of the world's most salivated over stars mocking their public image with the help of the ever-capable Coens' quick wit and ironic sense of humour. There is a distinct pretentious air of hypocrisy amongst some of the Hollywood elites, mocked most recently in Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder by both Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jnr. Achieved with much more subtlety in Burn After Reading, the Hollywood parody still shows audiences that actors are human too: they can laugh at themselves, they can rip the piss, poke fun and they can have wicked fun while doing it. If there is one thing that critics of Burn After Reading take away from the film, it is that the "Idiot Trilogy" ended with a fantastic bang.

irst there was Everett in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, then Miles in Intolerable Cruelty. Now, 5 years on, the Coens have transformed Hollywood's most eligible bachelor into an absolute moron for the third and final time. Harry Pfarrer is George Clooney's last stint in his self-confessed "Idiot Trilogy", and it would seem both the actor and his Moron Mentors, the Coen brothers, are as delighted as the audience in witnessing the transformation from Fox to Fool in their latest film, Burn After Reading. The character in question this time around is a victim of his own stupidity, indulging in internet dating and an interesting scenario involving a questionable 'dildo-chair'. Yes, it is as bizarrely sadistic as it sounds.

film@gairrhydd.com / 53