Review of The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) by Deric R — 28 Jun 2009

When this first came out, I thought it was the Coens' finest film. A heartbreaking tragedy, mixed with their customary wit and exceptional technical skills. But the older I get, the more I understand the familiar complaint from old-school cinephiles about the Coens just being a pair of superficial smart alecks. Watching it again, I could see how this story could be a tragedy, but I could also see the Coens mocking the very seriousness of the whole endeavor. For example, the moment that might play as the film's most devastating--the realization that Birdy (Johansson) is not a talented pianist but just a pretty girl that Ed (Thornton) puts his last reserve of faith in--is interrupted by a joke, the slow motion arc of Ed's car as it flies off the road.

The most fascinating thing the Coens do here is also the thing that may very well doom the whole project from the get go. One of the most famous features of the American film noir of the 40s and 50s was the dominance of a particular narrative trope, the hero haunted by their past. Not for nothing is one of the genre's most beloved entries named "Out of the Past." Ed Crane, however, has no past to speak of. Nor a present, really. He does, for a moment, imagine a different future for himself, but he pursues it with near indifference. This feels like a movie Antonioni might have made if he had been an American, and born two decades later. The existential angst is clear, but what's not clear is whether or not the Coens find it hilarious.

There's a lot to admire still. McDormand is great in a small, and potentially thankless part. She plays the bombshell with gusto, but convincingly falls apart after her lover's death. Thornton is good, but his performance is often an intriguing nonperformance. And the estimable DP Roger Deakins may very well have done his best work in this gorgeous film. The Coens may ultimately be superficial, but they sure mastered the surfaces they play with. Every frame is gorgeous.