The Coen Brothers direct Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand and Michael Badalucco in this film noir where a quiet barber plots an escape from his empty existence.

For OG Joel and Ethan fans this feels like the end of an era. From Blood Simple through to this everything they made together was Golden Age. You may have your favourites, we all have our preferences, but each and every one was of a quality so high, from a perspective so unmatchable, with nary a stinker within. Afterwards the record gets a bit more spotty. There would still be 5 star masterpieces (No Country For Old Men, True Grit) but there is a growing unease that they started making films because they thought they should rather than they had a long gestating script with a burning destiny to be put into production. A lesser film perhaps but still a no less enjoyable film from Joel and Ethan. Here they share their passion for James M Cain’s writing and classic noir visuals. It is grimmer, bleaker and more nihilistic than anything the brothers have ever done before or after, and the conclusion is an unsatisfying punchline, yet this is a mystery you watch for its quintessential Coens casting. Everyone is perfectly housed in a fine part – Billy Bob Thornton’s best dramatic performance here is not entirely dissimilar to his best comedy role (The Barber is a repressed, neater ancestor of his Bad Santa). Quality work if not all that crowd pleasing. The crisper than crisp B&W cinematography from Roger Deakins matches the empty, hopeless machinations.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Blood Simple (1984)

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