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copyright ©1999-2001
DigsMagazine.com.
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flick pick
| O
Brother, Where Art Thou? 2000
Directed
by: Joel Coen
Written
by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Homer
Starring: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John
Goodman, Holly Hunter
Language: English
Look for it at the video store under:
comedy
Watch it when you’re in the mood
for something: nostalgic,
whimsical |
The verdict:
 ½/ 5 the rating
system explained
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Plot synopsis
In Depression-era
Mississippi, convict Ulysses Everett McGill [Clooney] and his dimwitted
chain gang buddies Pete [Turturro] and Delmar [Nelson] stage an escape
in order to seek some hidden treasure. The money Ulysses stole during
the bank heist that landed him in prison is still buried somewhere on
his property, and Ulysses is heading back – along with his friends of
course, with whom he’ll divvy up the loot -- to find it. But like
Homer’s Ulysses, O Brother’s protagonist finds himself
encountering all sorts of strange persons and bizarre situations –
from a black guitarist who’s sold his soul to the devil in
exchange for his talent, to a crazed bank robber who’s more concerned
with achieving sufficient notoriety than he is with making money, to an
evil one-eyed Bible salesman, to three stunning bathing Sirens that
seduce the boys with their beauty, then lull them into slumber with
their soothing singing. The
obstacles keep on coming at Ulysses as he makes his way on that long
road home.
Review My brother rented this movie for me the day after I returned
home from the hospital after an emergency surgical procedure that left
my abdomen riddled with stitches. Fun movie, bad choice, because every
single time I felt a chuckle, worse, a guffaw, wanting to expel itself
from my body – meaning, just about every few minutes or so of this
very amusing flick -- my poor belly would contract in protests of pain,
forcing me to whimper feeble “heh-heh-owwwwww”s instead. O
Brother, Where Are Thou offer up the usual unusual from the Coen
brothers, whose very distinct style of movie comedy always manages to be
happy without succumbing to cheese, silly without being in the least bit
stupid. Both the music (acting as sort of a constant Greek chorus,
country/bluegrass/gospel-style of course) and the beautiful brown hues
of the cinematography work fantastically to evoke that feeling of the
deep South in days of yore, but unless you’re the sort of person
who’s concerned with such artsy-fartsy matters of cinematic technique,
all you’ll notice is the gleefully wacky, charmingly whimsical way in
which this good ol’ fashioned yarn unfolds. O Brother, Where Art
Thou may lack the undercurrent of darkness that brings depth to the
very best Coen brothers’ movies (the scene with the KKK that’s
tossed in near the end may be attempt at making some sort of statement,
but it comes completely out of the blue, really, and ultimately, just
doesn’t work), but it’s good, goofy fun nonetheless.
—reviewed by Y. Sun
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