Review of Hail, Caesar! (2016) by Odjento — 27 Mar 2016

Hail Caesar! Has gotten quite a bit of hate that I don’t believe it deserves, but I will admit it is one of the Coen Brothers weaker films.

The film is a throwback to the ‘golden age’ of cinema, and the film deals with the perception of their actors in which most people were told what to do not only with their careers but with their lifestyle. Josh Brolin’s character (Eddie Mannix) is the man who tries to hold it all together and wants to keep everything on a tight timescale (evident by the frequent use of his watch and time throughout the film). The film is also just a chance for the Coen Brothers to have fun and show off their film knowledge in the industry; and you can see how much fun each actor is having.

George Clooney is to be quite honest really just a McGuffin for the film, but he is still great in his role, Josh Brolin is pretty enjoyable too, and Ralph Fiennes is hilarious and brilliant as he is in almost everything but the actor that really steals the show is Alden Ehrenreich as Hobie Doyle. His character is loveable, hilariously unaware be a very caring and polite man. He may not be the best actor but he tries his best at adapting from his typical western films of little dialogue to a period drama and really wants to do well but he just can’t. Seriously, if there is any reason to go see this film it is for the scene between Alden and Ralph. It is a hysterical scene.

The film has a bundle of jokes but I feel many viewers may not fully get all of them as a lot of them are orientated around the jargon of the film industry. The film also references a lot of film industry trivia; for instance the film columnists who are based on real people and the scene in which Frances McDormund almost chokes herself to death on a film reel which references an actual person who died whilst their scarf got caught up in a film reel.

The films plot is debateable on how legitimate it actually is and does become a little too confusing getting towards the end but the script does allow for some hilariously entertaining scenes. Every actor is on point here but the best in the film are absolutely Alden and Ralph. If you are a big film industry buff you have to check this out but its downfall is definitely in how limited an audience can enjoy this. I enjoyed the film but I must admit it isn’t as consistent as other Coen Brother films and is quite inaccessible but there is definitely some people who will love this film and is probably going to gather a larger cult following later on in its life.

6.