BY: ORANGECHAIR
Only the Coen Brothers could create a film that allows me to write the following sentence. O Brother Where Art Thou is a film set in rural Mississippi in the 1930’s with a story line that is loosely based on the Odyssey. In theory it makes no sense to pair a retelling of the Odyssey with that time period or region but somehow the Coen Brothers make it work perfectly. An amusing script, great directing and a great cast make this Great Depression, Southern retelling of the Odyssey and wild success.
The film follows three convicts, Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney), Pete Hogwallop (John Turturro) and Delmar O’Donnel (Tim Blake Nelson) who start the film by breaking out of a chain gang. With an over arching quest to retrieve a large sum of money that Everett has buried, the three then travel across the South on a wild adventure, encountering outrageous characters during their journey. Their adventures include, and are not limited to, almost being drown by a flood, accidentally forming a hit musical band called the Soggy Bottom Boys and (possibly) being turned into frogs. The three get to know one another, deal with one another and ultimately help one another as their journey progresses to the film’s end which manages to be ambiguous yet satisfying at the same time.
I love writing reviews on the Coen Brother’s films because much like Shakespeare, the Coen Brothers have comedy films and they have drama films. Their drama films have almost no comedy in them but their comedic films tend to have a lot dramatic elements in them. I would say that O Brother Where Art Thou? is their funniest film but it still touches on many heavy topics. Since it is loosely based on the epic play there are references throughout this film to the Odyssey. You can view the film without comparing it to the Odyssey at all but it is fun to uncover all the parallels. Examples include John Goodman’s character who is made to represent the Cyclops. With the help of some impressive camera work, Goodman is shot to look even bigger than he already is and wears an eye patch throughout the film. Many other scenes and characters can be compared to classic characters and stories from the epic poem including a beautiful scene meant to represent the sirens. Beyond being filled with references to the Odyssey this film also is peppered with references to other films and novels including Cool Hand Luke, The Wizard of Oz, and Moby Dick.
This film is not only pure fun but it has an incredible amount of layers to pull back while watching it. It is the kind of the film that should be watched more than once because each time you view it, you are going to catch something you did not catch the first time. An extremely clever script, great writer/directors and brilliant actors combine together to make the unlikely coupling of the 1930’s South and the Odyssey a very successful adventure indeed.
BY: ORANGECHAIR
This is not simply a film about the main characters going to space, this entire film is set in space. For ninety minutes Bullock and Clooney spin and float across the screen in an extremely realistic and believable manner. Cuaron went to exhausted lengths, using dozens of advanced technological techniques to create a realistic space survival story. The camera work not only constantly reminds the audience of the hopelessness of trying to survive in space but also adds to the never ending intensity of the film. Every shot and sound (most of the time lack thereof) was calculated and controlled to add to the constantly building yet never entirely overwhelming intensity of the film.
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