Review of The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) by Evan M — 16 Mar 2010

"I don't like entertaining" says a cynical, apathetic Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) in THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE. The Coen Brothers on the other hand, sure do. Joel and Ethan Coen have year after year placed films high up on the year-end top ten lists and The Man Who Wasn't There continues the tradition. Following their FARGO (1996), THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) and O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU (2000), THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE is a near-captivating neo-noir in the Coen vein with all the actors doing truly great work.

They've long had a fascination with noir, but THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE takes it to the next level. It was shot in colour but transferred to black and white in post-production. All the props and costumes, even the brand of cigarettes frequently smoked are appropriate to Hollywood's Noir Era (1940's-1950's. The cinematography is great, with lighting and composition straight of classic noir films like DOUBLE INDEMNITY, THE KILLERS and TOUCH OF EVIL. Even Billy Bob Thornton's face seems to stolen straight from THE MALTESE FALCON.

This film, set in 1949 California, follows a barber trying to escape a life that to him feels dull and without meaning. However, it, like all Coen films, touches on so much more than that. It is a rich and highly detailed account of a place and a time and the people living it. Whole scenes, and entertaining scenes at that, pass by without any obvious reason for them. Yet, there is a poetic importance to them, a thematic and emotional connection between scenes that is easier felt than explained. It is of course very much a film noir. So there is a desperation to these characters, just below the surface; a desperation quietly hovering in the air around them, engulfing them, like the smoke from Billy Bob's cigarette.

This is a great film by a great director. I say "a" because the Coen brothers seem so in sync. They have the same vision, a vision that comes from their mutual love of movies. Everything comes back to the movies. Proof: probably the two most famous German directors (certainly up there) are Fritz Lang and Werner Herzog. When, in the film, two German names were needed, what names did they use? Fritz and Werner; and I have a funny feeling those names were never in doubt. Had you asked Ethan or Joel, the answer would have been the same. They were always Fritz and Werner.