The Man Who Wasn't There

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For all of its late-1940s cold war paranoia, pulp fiction dialogue, and frenzied greed, Joel and Ethan Coen's The Man Who Wasn't There is their most cool and collected film since Blood Simple. An unassuming barber with a scheming wife (Frances McDormand) and a serious smoking habit, Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) is an onlooker to his own life, a ghostly presence set against a silver-toned film noir backdrop. Only when he decides to alter his fate by blackmailing his wife's lover (James Gandolfini) in order to invest with a traveling salesman (Jon Polito) touting the wave of the future--dry cleaning--do we begin to hear the full extent of Ed's understated, existential lament. As his lawyer (Tony Shalhoub) says in Ed's defense at his eventual trial for murder, "He is modern man." Thornton's deadpan eloquence and cinematographer Roger Deakins's precision lighting offer the perfect counterbalance to the requisite one-liners, plot twists, and false endings that have come to characterize recent Coen brothers films. Almost in spite of the obsessive cultural references (flying saucers, Nabokov's Lolita, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle), Ed Crane steps neatly from the fray as one of cinema's most memorably disenchanted characters. --Fionn Meade

Customer Reviews:

Highly uderrated Coen brothers flick.......2007-07-09

"The Man Who Wasn't There" is one of the most beautifully shot films in recent memory. The acting is, as usual with the Coen brothers, top notch and the story is an excellent old noir formula. A must see film.

Werner Heisenberg, King of Noir........2006-11-11

Leave it to the Coen Brothers to make Werner Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle the crux of a film noir, and darned if they don't make a good case for it in "The Man Who Wasn't There." (Typically, they put their argument in the mouth of a loutish lawyer who can't even remember Heisenberg's name.) Chain-smoking nebbish barber Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) makes the only decisive (and dishonest) action of his life, and thus begins a chain of events that ends in the doom of himself and several, mostly not-so-innocent, bystanders. In "The Man Who Wasn't There," the phrase "decisive action" is an oxymoron; everything Crane and the other characters do is governed solely by chance. Everything that happens--from the wrong stranger turning up at the wrong time to a horribly timed punch in the face--changes everything forever, and always for the worse. Set in 1949 in Santa Rosa, Calif. (a tip of the hat to Hitchcock and "Shadow of a Doubt," perhaps?) "The Man Who Wasn't There" looks perfect. Like every other Coen film, it's a marvel of production design, and the genius photographer Roger Deakins nails to a tree the dusty black-and-white look of such classic noirs as "Double Indemnity" and "Out of the Past." Thematically, however, "The Man Who Wasn't There" resembles nothing so much as a much more elegant, much better acted remake of Edgar G. Ulmer's "Detour," in which the characters drift in a low-rent Sartrean hell, totally the victims of fate. But whereas "Detour" is more than the sum of its parts, "The Man Who Wasn't There" is less. The Coen Brothers may believe in chance, but on the screen they leave nothing to chance, so that everything in "The Man Who Wasn't There" is TOO perfect. In the end the film has the same overstudied, clinical quality that afflicts every Coen film except "Fargo." (It must be admitted, though, that only one Coen film--"The Hudsucker Proxy"--is ruined by that quality.) The acting is as superb as in any Coen film. Thornton--in a role that is nearly wordless except for the voiceover narration tying the plot together--burns a hole in the celluloid with his intense, hangdog gravity. There are also glittering supporting performances by Frances McDormand as Thornton's philandering wife Doris; James Gandolfini as her paramour and boss; Jon Polito as a shady businessman; Michael Badalucco as Thornton's motormouth brother-in-law; Scarlett Johansson as the teenager Thornton chastely fancies; and especially Tony Shalhoub, nearly stealing the picture as Freddy Riedenschneider, defense attorney extraordinaire.

Fantastic performances, bad smokers..........2006-08-07

This is an excellent film. Billy Bob is a clean-vut barber who keeps to himself. His wife married him because she liked that he didn't talk very much. It is a tragedy of epic proportions, with great performances from all involved.

The only thing for me that holds this back from being a FIVE STAR film is the fact that in EVERY SINGLE SCENE someone lights up a cigarette or is taking deep drags on one. That alone justifies this film's "R" rating. When watching this film, it seems that they are encouraging people to be "cool" and that smoking is a pleasurable thing. The most notorious moment for me is when Frances McDormand is sitting in the bathtub and asks her barber husband (Billy Bob) to shave her legs. He walks in somberly with a cigarette drooping from his lips and she tells him to give her a drag. This is a putrid moment that just drove me crazy! But then, that is just my opinion.

Overall, the film could have been as good and greater if it did not have the incessant smoking throughout. The plot is slow yet intensely emotional. If you don't mind smoking, then you will probably enjoy this dramatic tragedy. If you are as strongly opposed to smoking or have children who are interested in seeing this, you should review the film before letting them see it.

A brief comment.......2006-05-10

I really enjoyed this film, which is basically the Coen Bros. homage to the film noir genre. (I always thought the name was funny, since it's French, and yet most of famous directors were German, like Fritz Lang, Otto Preminger, etc. :-)). The sure hand of the brothers with this material is shown in how the film unfolds with the cool, unhurried, nonchalant pace of an experienced private eye or gumshoe doggedly stalking his prey. Thornton is great in the lead as the reticent, phlegmatic barber, and if anything, he is even more convincing with hair than without--even his hairpiece is 50s-ish. :-) The whole cast does a fine job in their roles, and both Gandolfini and Shaloub have a couple of show-stealing scenes. I found the film's climax a complete surprise, as the tables turn unexpectedly on the barber, for whom everything seems to be working out up till then. Overall a great film and probably one of the Coen Bros. best. If you're a Coen Bros. fan you won't find this one a disappointment.

ironical, fascinating and irritating film noir stylization.......2006-03-18

Other reviewers consider this move the Coen Brothers' best. Before viewing this film I had seen only "Miller's Cossing" and "Fargo". I still prefer Fargo but acknowledge that this movie is a special kind of masterpiece. With few exceptions, I usually do not like films based on unsympathetic characters (one reason I prefer "Fargo"). However, this film's exclusive assortment of unlikeable and unprincipled chaqracters creates the perfect springboard for the unintended chain of violent consequences resulting from a opportunistic premeditated act of revenge by a bizzarely laconic barber, all of which are meant to illustrate Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. The excellent acting of the cast gives depth to otherwise banal characters in such a way that suggests that they could have been different has they chosen otherwise. I didn't particularly like the convenient and superfluous inclusion of UFOs in the storyline and thought it unnecessarily weakend an almost flawless plot line. The behavior of the teenage girl at the end of the story was too abrupt and, in general I felt that the significance of her character should have been better developed.

Average customer rating:

Highly uderrated Coen brothers flick
Werner Heisenberg, King of Noir.
Fantastic performances, bad smokers...
A brief comment
ironical, fascinating and irritating film noir stylization

The Man Who Wasn't There
Starring: Michael Badalucco , Katherine Borowitz , James Gandolfini , Richard Jenkins , and Frances McDormand
Director: Joel Coen
Manufacturer: USA Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JKMG
Release Date: 2002-04-16

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Customer Reviews:

Highly uderrated Coen brothers flick.......2007-07-09

Werner Heisenberg, King of Noir........2006-11-11

Fantastic performances, bad smokers..........2006-08-07

A brief comment.......2006-05-10

ironical, fascinating and irritating film noir stylization.......2006-03-18

The Coen Brothers Collection (The Big Lebowski/Blood Simple/The Man Who Wasn't There/Intolerable Cruelty)

Average customer rating:

Great diverse collection from the Coens
BLOOD SIMPLE IS ONE OF THE BEST FILMS EVER MADE
Horrible Compilation
THE COEN BROTHERS COLLECTION

The Coen Brothers Collection (The Big Lebowski/Blood Simple/The Man Who Wasn't There/Intolerable Cruelty)
Starring: John Getz , Frances McDormand , Dan Hedaya , M. Emmet Walsh , and Samm-Art Williams
Director: Joel Coen , and Ethan Coen
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000ASATSU
Release Date: 2005-10-18

Description

The Big Lebowski: The Coen brothers' irreverent cult hit comes to DVD as a Collector's Edition, with all-new bonus material. The hilariously twisted comedy-thriller stars Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi and Julianne Moore. Join the "Dude" and his bowling buddies on their journey that blends unforgettable characters, kidnapping, a case of mistaken identity and White Russians. Enter the visually unique and entertaining world from the creative minds of the Coen brothers and remember: the Dude abides.

Blood Simple: This critically-acclaimed thriller set in rural Texas combines chilling suspense with offbeat humor to create an all-American version of the classic "film noir." Abby (Frances McDormand) is cheating on her saloonkeeper husband, Marty (Dan Hedaya). The object of her affections is Ray (John Getz), one of Marty's bartenders. Marty hires Visser (M. Emmet Walsh), an unscrupulous detective, to kill them but Visser has other, more lucrative plans of his own. So begins a calculating round of double and triple crosses that build to a bloodcurdling, surprise-filled climax. It's an evil-minded masterpiece from the exciting filmmaking team of Joel and Ethan Coen. In Blood Simple, when someone's gone...it's never for good!

Intolerable Cruelty: It's comic gold as two of Hollywood's most dazzling stars - George Clooney and Academy Award-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones - light up the screen in Intolerable Cruelty, a hilarious romantic comedy about men, women, and everything that can go wrong between them. Sparks fly when brilliant divorce attorney Miles Massey (Clooney) meets his match in the beautiful but ruthless Marylin Rexroth (Zeta-Jones). From Academy Award-winning directors Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (Fargo; O Brother, Where Art Thou?), Intolerable Cruelty also stars multi-talented Billy Bob Thornton and outrageous Cedric The Entertainer.

The Man Who Wasn't There: The Coen Brothers are back with a dark and twisted film noir unlike anything you've ever seen. Set in a small 1949 California town, this is the story of a seemingly simple barber, who turns to blackmail and revenge to escape his achingly dull life. But in the tradition of classic noir, nothing goes as planned and nothing is as it seems. And as the barber's plot unravels, the delicious surprises, stunning revelations and just plain strange occurrences will disturb and delight you long after the film has ended.

Customer Reviews:

Great diverse collection from the Coens.......2007-01-04

This 4 movie collection from 2 of the most original minds in cinema is a real treat.
Big Lebowski is possibly the best example of the Coen brothers style as it contains elements of drama, mystery and comedy in an intertwining tapestry.
Blood Simple remains one of the best thrillers made since Hitchcock's prime.
Intolerable Cruelty is fun romantic comedy.
And finally the Man Who Wasn't There is fascinating film noir combined with a Lynchian sensibility.
The negative reviews below are silly. First, these films represent only the Universal films the Coen's have made, thus, it's logical and predictable that this box set contains nothing from the other studios.
Also, one reviewer giving the collection 1 star is a big Spielberg fan, yet, seems to dislike his more adult work. (Furthermore, if you don't even like the Coens' Blood Simple you should definitely stick to E.T.)
A reviewer from Australia gives this collection a single star because she received the wrong country format. (That's a real shame, but a movie review site is a poor place to discuss a customer service issue.)

Hopefully there will be other collections released containing the other Coen brother films from the other studios.

BLOOD SIMPLE IS ONE OF THE BEST FILMS EVER MADE.......2007-01-01

AWESOME SET.
BLOOD SIMPLE AND THE BIG LEBOWSKI ARE AWESOME. THE OTHER TWO ARE NOT QUITE AS GOOD, BUT ARE GREAT FILMS AS WELL.
BLOOD SIMPLE IS ONE OF THE BEST FILMS EVER MADE.
THE COEN BROTHERS ARE PERHAPS THE BEST FILM MAKERS AROUND IN THIS DAY AND AGE (TOO BAD THERE AREN'T ANY KUBRICKS LEFT OUT THERE).

Horrible Compilation.......2006-08-21

Atrocious Compilation - it's of some of the worst films the Coens' did (excluding The Big Lebowksi) and does not include their most famous films. What were they thinking? It's like if they released a Spielberg Compilation but only included Catch Me If You Can, AI, Minority Report, and War of the Worlds. WTF!!!!

Plus you can buy each DVD separately and come UNDER the asking price of the entire set. The BIg Lebowski and The Man Who Wasn't There are about 10 bucks new in most stores. Blood Simple and Int. Cruelty (which is the most UNCoen film ever) are closer to 5 in many places I've seen. So don't fall into the "compilation trap" because you are not getting a "bulk" discount. Just buy the films you want separately. Most Coen DVDs are very reasonable price wise.

Any Coen compilation without Fargo, Barton Fink, and Raising Arizona is worthless.
And again, you're better off spending $40 on those DVDs individually.

THE COEN BROTHERS COLLECTION.......2006-08-17

The DVDs we received were not formatted to Zone 4 (Australia) se we've had to return the goods, unfortunately. Therefore, no helpful comments.

Average customer rating:

The Man Who Wasn't There [Region 2]
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton , Frances McDormand , Michael Badalucco , James Gandolfini , and Katherine Borowitz
Director: Ethan Coen , and Joel Coen
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005RDR3

Charlie Rose with George Mitchell; Joel Cohen & Ethan Cohen & Frances McDormand; Roy Jenkins (November 19, 2001)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with George Mitchell; Joel Cohen & Ethan Cohen & Frances McDormand; Roy Jenkins (November 19, 2001)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose, Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
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Description

Former Senator George Mitchell discusses Secretary of State Colin Powell's speech at the University of Louisville Kentucky about peace in the Middle East between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Next, the Cohen brothers talk about their new movie, The Man Who Wasn't There, along with lead actor Frances McDormand. Finally, author of the biography Winston Churchill: A Biography, Ray Jenkins, talks about Winston Churchill.

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