BURN AFTER READING (2008) - Ethan & Joel Coen

The Coen brothers are riding high on success, both financially, and critically of No Country For Old Men. The film was a dark thriller, so to follow it up, the Coens shot a comedy, something they have had success in the past with The Big Lebowski and O Brother Where Art Thou. In Burn After Reading, they set up a premise that sounds like a thriller, but fill the cast with characters who are both incredibly stupid and belong in a screwball comedy.

Osbourne Cox is a CIA analyst. His alcoholism has caused the powers that be to review his work situation and downgrade his status. Enraged, Cox quits the agency and begins his memoirs, which threatens to expose certain ‘explosive’ elements in his career. Cox’s wife, Katie is sick of Cox, plans to divorce him and hook up with Harry Pfarrer, a serial internet dater she’s been having an affair with. Katie makes a data CD of Cox’s computer information which inadvertently ends up in the hands of Chad Feldheimer and Linda Litzke, two idiotic fitness centre employees who decide to use the information to blackmail Osbourne Cox for money so that Linda can get cosmetic surgery.



And so the ensemble cast have a great time getting laughs and hamming it up. It’s just a shame they’re the only ones really having a laugh. The trailer for Burn After Reading was very promising. It showed some of the craziness of the cast and provided a few laughs. But unfortunately they showed pretty much all the laughs. I warn you, if you’ve seen the trailer for this movie, you will see everything, and I do mean everything coming way before it happens. The little plot twists are blatantly obvious, the laughs are already had and there is little left in the way of mystery. It’s a prime example of why trailers should be kept to the very minimum of footage.

Firstly, the story is very thin. It’s not that complicated despite the many prime characters and their various motivations. The characters themselves are a mish-mash of the sort of dumb secondary characters that have populated the Coens’ films over the years. They’re eccentric and have little quirks that set them apart from the average joe. In this respect, it feels like the Coens are at a stretch to fill the film. There’s not quite enough plot, so the characters are there to distract the audience. Having said that, the characters do provide some laughs. But it’s just not enough to bolster a rather weak script.



The performances, from a very very impressive cast are pretty good. Everyone has played a version of their character before, so they’re in relatively comfortable shoes. There are highlights, though. John Malkovich’s Osbourne Cox is a well-spoken, but dangerously on-edge kinda guy. He’s the person you don’t want to piss off, and Malkovich does this very well. It’s great to see him play this kind of role outside kids’ movies. It’s just a shame there’s not much more of him. Richard Jenkins, a brilliant character actor who’s been around for years has the role with the most meat, despite how little his screen time is. Jenkins’ character really is the most normal character in the film, with motivations that are more real. And Jenkins’ creates a character that’s actually believable amongst many cartoons. And Brad Pitt’s Chad Feldheimer provides most of the laughs in the film. He’s a blonde, idiotic, image-obsessed personal trainer. Yet he does have something of a heart of gold. He’s got ideas that he cannot execute and really dodgy plans. And Pitt plays this brilliantly. He makes Feldheimer someone you feel sorry for when things go wrong for him. Yet you pray for things to go wrong so that the laughs begin. George Clooney’s played the idiot before. In both O Brother Where Art Thou and Leatherheads. His character feels like an extension of those roles, so we’re seeing nothing new there. Tilda Swinton, as Katie Cox also has played the no-nonsense ruthless business type before, and it’s something she does well. And Frances McDormand, who plays the other idiot of the piece has a few choice moments and a few laughs.

Burn After Reading is rather smug. But it’s just not that funny. The ending is far too abrupt and is told to us rather than shown. Which breaks the cardinal rule of screenwriting- show, don’t tell. It’s not a remarkable film, and considering it’s from the Coens, I had hoped for far better. It won’t really jump out in the cannon of Coen films. There are a few entertaining moments, and Brad Pitt continues doing some of the best work of his career. But other than that, it’s all kind forgettable. Burn After Reading is an appropriate title. Because you most likely will forget after watching.


5/10

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN (2008) - Andrew Adamson

The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian marks the second film in the series that could possibly (although not probably) run to seven. Andrew Adamson returns to the director’s chair for the sequel which, to put it kindly, isn’t the most engaging of films. I mean, the scenery is beautiful. It’s full of action. But for some reason, the film lacks almost anything worth caring about.

In this film, we open with Prince Caspian, the heir to the throne of Narnia being smuggled out of his kingdom. His evil uncle, Miraz, wants the Prince dead so he can place himself in the throne. Caspian escapes an assassination attempt and calls for the old kings and queens of Narnia for help. The Pevensie children, Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy are whisked back to Narnia, where they find the landscape changed to the point where it’s unrecognisable. And worst of all, the Narnians are in hiding, thought to be extinct. And Aslan is nowhere to be found. Prince Caspian raises an army of Narnians to take back his throne and bring peace to Narnia but is disappointed to find that the kings and queens he summoned are mere children. And so two battles begin. One, a battle of wills between Caspian and Peter Pevensie as to who should lead the army, and the battle between the Narnians and the Telmarines, the humans who forced the Narnians into hiding.



One word can sum up The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Boring. From the beginning to the very end, you’ll be hard pressed to raise more than one eyebrow in anything resembling excitement, surprise, tension or entertainment. Sure, the New Zealand and Czech Republic backdrop is gorgeous. But it’s gorgeous in any film. It takes more than pretty scenery to make a decent film. The film breaks down like this. Escape, return, argue, attack, argue, defend, attack, go home. That’s literally the film. The characters are in no way engaging and the battles are sleep inducing. Unfortunately, Andrew Adamson cannot direct a fight or battle scene. He ends up using that tired old cliché, slow motion and everything just becomes lacklustre. There’s a lot of proclaiming ‘FOR NARNIA!’ ‘FOR ASLAN!’ For Christ sake, gimme something interesting to watch.

I’ll admit, I haven’t read C.S. Lewis’ books. But from watching the film, it just seems that despite 1300 years passing from the time the children left Narnia to the time they returned, they’re not all that sad everything has changed. They lament for a quick moment that their friends are all dead, but then they skip off into the wood to meet delightful mouse creatures with miniature swords and badgers who can talk. It’s just all a little trite. The five principal actors, the Pevensies played by William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley and Prince Caspian, played by Ben Barnes either bicker amongst themselves or stand with jaws agape, staring at blank spaces to later be filled by special effects. Their performances, if you can call them that, are just ineffectual. In fact, Barnes, who plays the titular character, seems to be a second tier character. I just found myself wishing King Miraz, the villain, would slap the children and tell them to behave.



The only actor who actually was worth watching was Peter Dinklage as a miniature Hulk Hogan. Dinklage is a fine actor, and plays the gruff dwarf Trumpkin with gusto. At one point I found myself waking up as Tilda Swinton’s White Witch made an appearance, but that quickly faded as it became clear she was only popping in to make a cameo.

I don’t see The Chronicles of Narnia having much more in the way of legs if the upcoming Voyage of the Dawn Treader is as boring as Prince Caspian. Everything in this movie has been done before, and a million times better by Peter Jackson. Prince Caspian is Lord of the Rings-lite. Don’t waste your money.


4/10

MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007) - Tony Gilroy

George Clooney returns to the screens this month in a film that is miles apart from the other film he was in this year, Ocean’s 13. This time, Clooney goes serious in a film that attempts to tackle that oft-broached subject of the evils of big business. How it tramples on the little guy all for the sake of saving money for the evil, faceless members of the board of directors and investors. In Michael Clayton, Clooney plays the title character. Clayton works for one of the largest law firms in the world. He’s been with the company seventeen years, but because of his social class, where he came from, he has never been offered the position of partner.

Instead, Clayton has carved somewhat of a niche for himself as a fixer. He’s the guy the company calls when embarrassing situations arise that need to be handled discreetly. It’s not a job Clayton seems to enjoy, nor is it one that offers him financial security. Clayton co-owns a failing bar. He seeks out underground poker games and gambles his money away. His family life is far from ideal. It’s a role Clooney plays very well. You can see the fatigue on his face. Life really has run him down. It seems that Clooney is better at playing these types of characters than the likes of Danny Ocean, a role he’s pretty much become a star with. Yet with this, Syriana, and the films Clooney has directed himself, Clooney proves he has the talent to back up the superstar status.



Clayton is called in to clean up the mess made by Arthur Edens, one of the top lawyers in the company Clayton works for, and the primary lawyer in a large class-action suit between 450 farmers and chemical firm, U-North. Clayton thinks he knows how to handle the Edens situation, but there’s more to this problem than Clayton is aware of. Meanwhile, at U-North, the career of litigator Karen Crowder rests on the successful resolution of the class action suit. A race begins to fix the mess created by Edens. And with pressure mounting from his superiors, and threats on his life, Clayton finds himself buckling under the pressure.

Director Tony Gilroy previously wrote the screenplays for the excellent Bourne films. Michael Clayton, marks his debut as director. This film certainly has the same feel as the Bourne films when to comes to the talking. However, I wouldn’t rush to see it and expect the same type of film. There’s little to no action in this film. It’s a slow burner. And at two hours, it feels long. The success of the film rests with the actors. This is, after all, a character piece. Clooney, as I’ve mentioned is very good in the central role. Clayton is in no way a strong character. While talented at his job, almost every other aspect of his life is a failure. For such a successful actor to portray a role like this requires some degree of talent. And that talent is obvious here. Tom Wilkinson plays Arthur Edens. Wilkinson is a terrific character actor. He’s made quite the career since for himself since The Full Monty, and he plays the unhinged Edens very well. Tilda Swinton’s performance as Karen Crowder is the standout performance, however. She’s very much on the edge, almost having a nervous breakdown due to the fear she feels with her job. Yet at the same time, she’s remarkably cool when selling the lies about U-North. One scene intercuts her preparation for an interview with the interview itself. It’s very interesting to watch an actor switch between the two states of mind so successfully.




While the cast (which also includes Sydney Pollack) is excellent, and the message of the film is clear, it’s not really anything new. We’ve seen this kind of thing before in Syriana and Michael Mann’s The Insider. While the film isn’t terrible by an degree, it’s not something I’d be rushing to see in the cinema. It’s something that can wait for home viewing. Somewhere you know you’ll be more comfortable!


6/10