O Brother, Where Art Thou
Year: 2001
Directed By: Joel and Ethan Coen
Written By: Homer (The Odyssey), Joel and Ethan Coen
RYAN’S REVIEW
More than anything this movie reminds me of my time at Action Video when I was 16. This movie was one of our hottest renters on a regular basis even long after it had been released on video. I didn’t watch the movie then and apparently haven’t seen it ever before. The soundtrack from this movie was played relentlessly by my father when it came out and that probably had a lot to do with why I didn’t see it. I had also yet to discover who the Coen brothers were at that point in my young movie watching life.
The Coen brothers are two of the best in the business and they are unique because they do it all, on all of their movies. They write all their films themselves, then direct, produce, and edit all by themselves as well. They always create interesting characters and write really clever dialogue for them. This film is no different either; it is clever and extremely well written. The Coen brothers took the classic epic poem “The Odyssey” by Homer and loosely rewrote the story to take place in the Deep South during the Great Depression. The movie stars George Clooney, who the Coens have had success with a few times. I have never liked Clooney though; all I can ever see is the worst Batman of all time no matter what he is in. He plays a good part in this film, but I detest him nonetheless. John Turturro is another Coen regular and I think he is great in just about everything he does. John Goodman, yet another Coen regular, has a fantastic role in the film and he is probably my favorite thing about the movie. Tim Blake Nelson was appropriately cast for his role in the film; the Coens have a gift for finding the right people.
This movie is immensely popular, in fact it is one of the more popular films made by two of my favorite directors. I can completely see what people like about it too but I have just never liked this one and always have a hard time trying to watch it. I detest country music to the point that I kind of go a little insane in my head every time I hear it, I loathe the sound of it. It’s a personal issue I have that I can’t really explain. While I know that the music in this movie isn’t country, it is country enough to set off one of my weirder and more insane tendencies. The number one song from this movie is a good song, I can admit that, but I just cringe every time I hear it and it has a knack for getting stuck in my head for days. Beyond that I don’t really like the coloring technique the Coens used or the time setting of the film. Not to mention Clooney, despite all his witty lines in the film it is still Clooney. I can clearly see that this is a great film and I know why people like it so much. I just have really weird reasons for never giving it a chance and those same reasons prove too much to get past for me while watching it.
Do not take my advice when it comes to this movie. Give it a chance yourself and you will probably find that you feel completely different than me. I have weird and unusual reasons for not liking this movie and even I recognize how ridiculous that is. Every single person I know disagrees with me on this and thinks I’m crazy for not loving this movie. Based on that reality I’m going to suggest that while I may not like this movie, it is still more than likely worth your time.
The Movie Snobs 