The Coens return to film noir terrain with this tale of infidelity, blackmail and death. Ed Crane is a chain-smoking barber, his wife is probably having an affair with her boss, Frank, and Ed's life is pretty much going nowhere. When an opportunity to invest in the dry cleaning business is presented to him, he sees a way out. He decides to blackmail Frank in order to acquire some funds, but things start to go badly awry.
Billy Bob Thornton plays Ed, a monotone barber who appears so easy going that he is
happy to turn a blind eye to his wife's (Frances McDormand) affair with the tow... more >
Billy Bob Thornton plays Ed, a monotone barber who appears so easy going that he is
happy to turn a blind eye to his wife's (Frances McDormand) affair with the town's
big cheese (The Sopranos' James Gandolfini). However all this changes when Ed is
lured into the dirty world of blackmail by a travelling salesman's offer to invest
in the future - Dry Cleaning.
What develops is perhaps the Cohens' most layered and intelligent story to date,
exploring the same themes as they did in Blood Simple and Fargo (namely blackmail,
greed, redemption and the theory of karma), but in much greater depth. There is more
room for thought and less for comedy, and the result is a thoroughly absorbing tale.
Billy Bob Thornton is thoroughly engaging as the impassive, chain smoking cuckold.
Equally brilliant is his big time lawyer, Freddy Riedenschneider, played wonderfully
by Tony Shalhoub, who manages to amusingly personify the banalities of the legal
system that is giving him his millions.
Whilst it is always hard to say one Cohen brothers film is better than another, The
Man Who Wasn't There is probably their most visually striking film to date. The
beautiful and frequently inventive 1940s design is captured hypnotically in black
and white by their regular Cinematographer, Roger Deakins, who was rightfully
awarded a BAFTA for the film. Every shot is perfectly composed and even the most
mundane of locations is made to look tantalising. From the opening, lingering shot
of a spinning barber's pole to the most innovative use of shadows captured inside a
prison cell, the film is visually stunning.
