Burn After Reading

A Coen brothers picture can be a can of worms- or box of hammers, or box of candy- but you never know until you see it how much YOU personally will like it. I happened to like this one. It was the curious mix of Brad Pitt and John Malkovich and the shocking spots of violence that got to me. Seeing George Clooney in such an odd role- sort of a dopey sex obsessed philanderer- seemed off kilter. Clooney seemed miscast to me- and I spent most of his time on screen looking at his new teeth. It's bad when you know an actor that well. It does make playing a specific role harder on them. I must say that Frances McDormand was too quirky, too frantic, too oddball to bring a sense of belief to her character. That is the fault of the directors, the Coen brothers. Also, the film itself has an unfinished end- the viewer KNOWS what is happening, but it seemed like the Coen's wanted to save film, so rather than show a montage of the characters going their various ways, they let someone just SAY it. Movies aren't books on tape. We don't want someone to TELL us the story! At least it wasn't narrated. But I liked it nonetheless. It was preposterous. And Brad Pitt and John Malkovich play characters that they normally are never associated with. So, for that reason, I'd recommend it. NO KIDS- there are adult "toys" prominently featured. And if I was a kid, I'd have nightmares about the one I saw! And some unexpected but pretty gross violence.