Review of Burn After Reading (2008) by Pete S — 23 Sep 2012

By the time Burn After Reading has reached its conclusion, it has trounced all expectations that the audience member could have possibly had going into the film. It's bizarre, shocking and giddily morbid, and when the credits roll it's difficult to know whether to smile or not.

The less you know going into the film, the better, so I won't spoil much regarding the central narrative here. Just know that the film involves a couple of normal people happening upon some CIA material which appears to be confidential and trying to get some money out of it. There's no real star in the film, as the cast is truly meant as an ensemble. The film begins following three or four separate plot-lines which all tie together by the end in specularly creative ways. Each cast member feels perfectly suited for their role, but the standouts are George Clooney and Brad Pitt, who both play against type to outstanding effect.

Burn After Reading will make you laugh, bite your nails, and jump in shock a couple of times all throughout its moderately brief runtime. It's a commendable achievement, and something only a cinema duo as quirky as the Coen Brothers would have been able to pull off.

Luckily, they do more than pull it off. It may turn off some with its offbeat humor and incredibly dark undertones, but Burn After Reading is one of the most spectacularly memorable cinematic experiences of the decade, and it's one of the Coen brothers' finest films to date.