Director:
Ethan Coen
Joel Coen
Starring:
Tom Hanks
Irma P. Hall
Marlon Wayans
J.K. Simmons
Tzi Ma
Ryan Hurst
Diane Delano
Release: 26 Mar. 04
IMDb
|
The Ladykillers
BY: DAVID PERRY
However many successes they may churn out, life as the Coen
brothers must be miserable. Here’s two guys who set the bar so high so often
that their marginal films come as huge disappointments. The Ladykillers,
their latest middle-ground film, isn’t particularly bad, but it pales beside
the majority of their works. Lucky for them, I suppose, is that two of their
last three films weren’t much better.
Which raises the question, why do they have to make a Fargo, a Blood Simple,
or a Miller’s Crossing every time? There are thousands of directors who have
and will never make the equivalent of one of those masterpieces, and yet I
catch myself getting into a tizzy when someone comments on the hilarity of O
Brother, Where Art Thou? For that reason, I did something I hadn’t done
before O Brother or Intolerable Cruelty: I watched The Ladykillers as if it
wasn’t a Coen brothers film.
And it worked, to some extent. While the characterizations could only be
considered in their style, the meandering plotting and clunky pacing seemed
more acceptable when placed at the same level as Bronwen Hughes or Ron
Howard. In fact, in the hands of someone else, I’d be willing to celebrate
some untapped humorist for creating some wonderfully dry jokes and dark
stunts. I’d call it the first film since Raising Arizona to fully reflect
the giddiness of being inept, even if it never captures the heart and soul
of struggling under these circumstances (empathy has been traded for
full-fledged ridicule).
All the pieces fall into place by the end, which does coincide with the
preexisting trajectory of the Ealing production it’s remaking, but never
quite feels fresh enough to overcome that braggart feeling as they
systematically follow through on every possible story arc and twist. These
are veterans who, perhaps unfortunately, know exactly what to do at every
turn. That they almost get away with it, though, is proof of the artists
still waiting for their next The Man Who Wasn’t There.
[Postscript: This is the first film in which both brothers, Ethan and Joel,
receive directorial credit. Before The Ladykillers, Ethan has been producer
and Joel has been director, with shared credit for writing and editing
(under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes). I don’t fully understand the reason
for the change (perhaps the Cannes win two years ago), but I do welcome
Ethan to the Best Director Oscar competition the next time their artistic
juices start flowing completely again.]
|