Viewed in
2010
Formats
HD TV
Premise
Tim Robbins stars as a hapless pawn in Paul Newman's nefarious plan to take over the company in 1950's America.
Loved
The 1950's, "say, what gives?" dialogue.
Liked
Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance, Roger Deakins' cinematography.
Disliked
The disjointed second half.
Thoughts
It was fun, especially the humor in the first part.
Clearly, the Coen brothers' and Roger Deakins' fingerprints were all over this. They did a great job of evoking 1950's city life, with snappy dialogue and vast visuals of skyscrapers. Still it was easy to tell it was a Coens movie, with its lively unique lines, obligatory hallucinatory dream sequence, and fearless creativity in story-telling. The visuals were a great tool in accenting some of the funniest moments.
The premise appeared to be formulaic, in which bad people hire a dope to run something into the ground, but you know that will backfire on them. But like many of their films, there were some nice unexpected twists in the second half. They did not all work, but you could not accuse them of playing safe.
Jennifer Jason Leigh was delightful as the fast-talking take-no-prisoner reporter who tried to uncover the conspiracy. As expected, there were some cameos by the Coen stable, such as John Goodman and Steve Buscemi. It was amusing to see Bruce Campbell (turned out Sam Raimi was part of the project) and Peter Gallagher as a lounge singer.
What bugged me was the uneven second half and casting. There was a point halfway through when Robbins' character changed dramatically and abruptly. I did not disagree with the turn, but there was little transition to justify it. After that, every fallout scene felt disjointed, like they were missing scenes that tied things together.
Another interesting flaw was the cast. While I though Robbins did a good job as lead, his character and mannerism made me think of Tom Hanks. This innocent, everyday man, patsy-soon-to-be-hero type would have been perfect for him to knock out of the park. Speaking of Hanks, his co-star from Road to Redemption (where both tried to prove they can play bad people), Paul Newman as the sinister puppet-master was badly miscast. He never felt evil enough, despite all his cigar-smoking, grunting speaking style, and cackle.
Fans of the Coen brothers should have a lot to like about this film. It had ear candy dialogue, quirky moments, stylish visuals, and some creativity. Too bad the pieces did not fit all together perfectly like their better films.
What I would change
Recast Newman's character.
