Burn After Reading

So, we have here a story about a disillusioned CIA operative who's quit the agency and is writing a tell-all memoir intended to embarass his former colleagues. But when the computer disk containing his writing falls into the hands of a couple of dim work-out gym employees who decide to blackmail him for the return of his disk, things escalate to the point of violence, bloodshed and gunplay. Of course, it's a comedy. What else could it be? Well, maybe once you realize that it's a COEN BROTHERS comedy all of that will begin to make sense.

The Coen Brothers have never been "mass appeal" film makers who turn out the colossal blockbusters... even their biggest hits like "Fargo" and "No Country For Old Men" are small potatoes compared to "Iron Man" or "The Dark Knight". But for fans of the strange, quirky and decidedly non-formulaic... and who are able to accept the notion that a very dark film can still be funny... they've always had a considerable appeal, and "Burn After Reading" continues that tradition. It's not by any means the best film they've ever made, but long-time fans can at least be thankful that it's not exactly a repeat of the disaster that was "Intolerable Cruelty" either. As we've come to expect in a genuine Coen film, it looks directly and unflinchingly into the darker corners of the human spirit, and finds a lot to laugh at there.

The Coens seem to be among the relatively few directors who are capable of taking an all-star celebrity cast and getting fine, even inspired, performances out of all of them. Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt as the blackmailers are among the most entertaining and likable idiots to grace the screen in a long time, and Richard ("The Visitor") Jenkins as their boss gives the film a touch of real humanity and a rare bit of actual intelligence. John Malkovich as the ex-CIA agent is hysterical, constantly on the verge of blowing his top (some of the movie's most shocking moments occur when he actually does). George Clooney's character is a grand illustration of just how funny total paranoia can be, and even though their characters are limited to only a few scenes and never interact with any of the others, David Rasch as J.K. Simmons as CIA higher-ups are not only funny but manage to tie together a good deal of the film's confusion. And in typical Coen fashion, no character is too small or insignificant for the brothers to give them some snappy dialogue and memorable moments.

Even some long time Coen fans have been slightly surprised that "what it all means" amounts to so little in the end, and many have bemoaned a lack of sympathetic characters they can identify with. I'm not exactly sure I understand those complaints: Coen films have often been about life-or-death situations that ultimately don't add up to much in the grand scheme of things, and McDormand, Pitt and Jenkins all impress me as sympathetic characters, even though McDormand and Pitt together have roughly the intelligence of a muffin.

As Coen films go, this is definitely not the first one the uninitiated should see. But it's still a fun and amusing (if lesser) addition to their filmography. "Burn After Reading" has set an all-time opening weekend record for a Coen Brothers movie, probably as a result of heightened expectations after "No Country For Old Men". Anyone anticipating a repeat of that Oscar-winner will likely be disappointed. But lower your expectations just a bit, don't expect any more than an amusing (and dark) time with a very entertaining bunch of dim bulbs, and you should have a fine time. Not every film has to redefine what movies can be.