Review of O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) by Joshua B — 26 Oct 2012
Leave it to the Coen brothers to take an ancient Greek poem as their inspiration and turn it into such an absurd, madcap adventure. This movie is filled to the brim with hilarious situations and performances,as well as more quotable lines than you'll probably find in most comedies.
George Clooney, who made his Coen brothers debut with this role, casts aside any movie star vanity to portray Everett Ulysses McGill, a chain gang convict who escapes in pursuit of treasure while chained to two other inmates, hotheaded Pete (John Turturro) and sweet natured but dim-witted Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson).
Their adventures take them across the deep South, where every character they encounter is a delightfully realized eccentric of one sort or the other, from a blind recording studio owner on down to a one- eyed Bible salesman.
The movie filled to the brim with that wonderfully quirky Coen dialogue that often times is the driving force behind their best hits, with Clooney in particular getting the lion's share of the good lines.
And one more thing that must be mentioned is the cinematography by long time Coen collaborator Roger Deakins. This movie is quiet stunning simply to look at, with picturesque postcard visuals that really work well in making the South as much of a character as anything else.
So, in conclusion, if you're not a Coen brothers fan already, there's worse places you could start than with this film. And if you are a fan and have not seen this.....WASSA MATTER WICHOO,HUH?! See this already! :).
This review of O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) was written by Joshua B on 26 Oct 2012.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
