the best takes in this bump are those praising this film for its ongoing relevance ^_^
― imago, Monday, 18 January 2021 17:13 (three years ago) link
xp. "the raw intelligence"
this is probably the most misanthropic cohen brothers movie, no? the nearest thing to a likable character is ... Jenkins, maybe? although simping for McDormand's narcissistic-maniac is deeply pathetic, and his fate is cruel
― Fenners' Pen (jim in vancouver), Monday, 18 January 2021 17:40 (three years ago) link
And I don’t get the praise for Pitt’s comedy chops in this, he’s awful. Someone like Channing Tatum could’ve done this twice as well without being so distractingly try-hard.
― circa1916,
I look at his performance here as a trial run for better, looser, more relaxed ones in the next few years.
― meticulously crafted, socially responsible, morally upsta (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 18 January 2021 17:56 (three years ago) link
I had totally forgotten that in the Coens filmography No Country for Old Men is sandwiched between this and The Ladykillers, which kind of blows my mind.
I think the reason this never worked for me is that it seemed like a case of the Coens self-consciously trying to make a Coen Brothers Type Movie
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Monday, 18 January 2021 18:08 (three years ago) link
Pitt's performance isn't about having multilayered comedy chops, it's glorious clowning.
― shivers me timber (sic), Monday, 18 January 2021 22:06 (three years ago) link
Agreed
Also no country is just lifted straight from the novel, so maybe they didnt have to work themselves into the mood as much
― spaghetti connemara (darraghmac), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 01:02 (three years ago) link
Not that they finish editing a serious drama and then get the bends sitting down to write a goofy comedy - they're usually struggling to get a screenplay financed from the slush pile - but it's more the pattern than not to go from srs bsns -> goofball shit.
Blood Simple -> Raising ArizonaCrossing & Fink b2b -> HudsuckerFargo -> LebowskiMan Who Wasn't -> IntolerableNo Country -> Burn AfterLlewyn Davis -> Hail Caesar
― shivers me timber (sic), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 01:24 (three years ago) link
i was surprised not so much by the shift in mood but in quality. all this time i'd been thinking of cruelty, ladykiller & burn as one continuous string of misfires (the first two so misconceived & badly executed that i'd wondered if the coens had completely lost it, the third better but just sort of an ungainly clunker), with no country being their reinvigorated return from the wilderness. its wild to realize that it comes square in the middle of that otherwise very awkward string of films. good point darraghmac, maybe the relatively straight adaptation took some of the pressure off
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 17:22 (three years ago) link
Yes but *also* intolerable cruelty and burn after reading are good tho
― spaghetti connemara (darraghmac), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 17:37 (three years ago) link
It's also harder to be funny than to be serious, imo. One reason I suggested "Burn..." to my wife is that there are far too few contemporary funny movies to watch.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 19 January 2021 17:46 (three years ago) link
For me the problem with Intolerable Cruelty is that the film never achieved the sense of play it hoped to deliver. It was generally amusing in concept and execution, but it desperately wanted to be delightful and it failed.
― Respectfully Yours, (Aimless), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 17:52 (three years ago) link
josh otm re comedy, everyone has their favs and least favs with the coens but for me all the ones that i think dont work are comedies. its a much, much smaller target to hit.
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Tuesday, 19 January 2021 17:57 (three years ago) link