Review of Suburbicon (2017) by Rich B — 06 Nov 2017

Suburbicon should have been the kind of movie I'd like, but it isn't. It's a racially charged satire of the suburbs written by the Coen brothers. Somewhere, everything went wrong, leaving us with a final product that's boring and confused.

What Suburbicon does right is recreating the 50s aesthetic. An animated sequence that's a cheerfully tone deaf dead ringer for the advertisements/propaganda we watched in history class introduces us to the premise. All of the actors dress and behave in the same superficially pleasant mannerisms that defined 50s suburbia. Composed by Alexandre Desplat, the soundtrack hearkens back to a simpler time when Hollywood only made movies that catered to the characters we're watching.

However, when it comes to making any meaningful point, Suburbicon fails spectacularly. The main story line plays out in a completely uninteresting way. A-list actors and the Coen brothers' quirkiness are there, but they don't come to life. What themes the narrative does have are much better developed in the Coen brother's earlier movies, namely Fargo or Blood Simple. If you want to see the main plot done right, watch Fargo. Meanwhile, there's a far more interesting subplot that plays out just next door, but even though there's actually a compelling story there, that subplot gets sidelined by the main plot. You'll be begging the movie to show you more of the subplot, but it never gets enough focus. If you want to see that story done right, then Marshall is waiting for you in theaters.