Review of Hail, Caesar! (2016) by Rameshwar I — 16 Aug 2016

The Coen brothers have been quite successful when switching to different genres by infusing a unique narrative style and their trademark quirky humor. Going by their filmography, the movies that are most likely to succeed in terms of box office performance or connect with the audience are the ones which has either a wow or a shock factor which are sorely missing in Hail! Caeser.

Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a veteran in studio business who takes his work very seriously. When the star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) goes missing from the sets of 'Hail! Caesar' (which is based on crucifixion of Jesus Christ through the eyes of a Roman soldier Autolycus), Eddie has to think on his feet to fix the situation. Between a lucrative job offer from Lockheed Martin, solving issues between a star and a director, fixing a PR issue of a star actress and dodging the media regarding a certain story, Eddie is pushed to corner to bring things under control.

Romancing the yesteryear Hollywood has been the calling for many filmmakers in the past including the Coen Brothers (Barton Fink), probably because one can spin exotic stories based on hot-headed and impossible to handle stars, executives with iron fists, limited exposure to media etc. as the corporate culture, social media and presence of mobile phones could have watered down many potential plots if set in contemporary times. While some have fared well, others have ended in disasters.

To give credit to the Coen brothers - the screenplay was well structured with enough entertaining moments. Their influence probably would have played the antagonist here with many writers and directors taking a similar approach of quirky humor which eventually sets the bar higher and pushing them to redefine themselves. The cameos are not worthy, the actors seemed a little disinterested, the plot neither hurries nor sets you up for a climax when featuring a plot about an abduction of a movie story. However the ever dependable Josh Brolin and the newbie Alden Ehrenreich playing Hobie Doyle are a refreshing contrast to the rest of the movie. The period inspired communist conspiracy angles, casting couches, tantrum throwing heroines, gossip column peddlers are all used to good advantage.

It seems to have everything going for it but just can't quite place what's missing.