The Man Who Wasn't There

I’m rather fond of the Coen Brothers’ movies. The Big Lebowski is quite possibly my favorite film of all times. So it didn’t take me long to decide to check The Man Who Wasn’t There out from the library when I saw it on the shelf. Carina is not too fond of Billy Bob Thorton, but she decided to watch it with me.

It’s an extremely slow film, more like Blood Simple or Miller’s Crossing than any of the zany hijinks movies like Lebowski or Raising Arizona. The plot, much like the main character Ed Crane, is methodical and predictable. Carina got a little antsy, eager for something to happen, but I quite enjoyed the deliberate pace. Even though I was able to predict almost everything that happened, I still found myself interested in the story. I wasn’t bored, nor was I disappointed. The ending has some typical Coen Brothers’ weirdness, which is most of what I was unable to predict in the film.

Billy Bob Thorton put in a fine performance. His dry, unhurried delivery was perfect.

We took the DVD back to the library before we had a chance to examine the disc for any commentary. I’m secretly hoping that the commentary will rival that on Blood Simple, which made the movie something else altogether.