Burn After Reading — movie review

by Kris   ⋅   September 24, 2008   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

Director: Coen Brothers
Starring: George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton
Genre: Comedy

Sorry this is so late…and we saw it early, too.. nuts. It’s hard for me to write mainstream movie reviews sometimes… especially if I feel lukewarm about the subject. Well, that just gave it all away, didn’t it? Well, HA! I’ll find some way to twist it up for you. One “purely” superficial review coming up. —Kris

The power of plaid. It will instantly drain beautiful people of all their glory. In this case, George Clooney tucks in long sleeved button-ups in various renditions of the offensive pattern, paired with a salt-n-pepper wiry beard, adding to the feeling that he is attempting to hide something. A bulging gut? A hairy chest? Arms? A surplus of testosterone and an illicit affair? It could work if it was an attempt to enforce an “everyday man” image, if men were lumberjacks everyday. Then again, Coen Brothers’ movies always have an outdated fashion sense to them, as if everyone is still either stuck in the 80s or their mother still dresses them.

John Malkovich can do no wrong. He’s the best. He’s in a long silk robe with probably boxers, he’s bald, he’s wielding a tiny tomahawk with evil intentions, and we know he’s upset, we get that he’s furious and at wit’s end about his wife’s (Tilda Swinton) affair and the snowflake-to-avalanche mess he’s in, we don’t need to hear him spit out expletives for laughs. It cheapens his craft. Don’t do it. It’s like what they did to Michael Caine in The Weather Man. You’re cruel, Coen Brothers, too cruel.

Tilda Swinton is amazing as always, even though business attire never looks quite right on her, marring an otherwise perfect shell of a controlling mannequin with stereotypical husband-hating motives. Ditto for disdain at making her use cheap curse words.

At least they made proper use of Frances McDormands’ little pursed lips, perfect palette for an anxious woman always on the brink of chat. She’s Linda Litzke, a lonely aging woman trapped in a superficial career choice at “Hardbodies” gym. Well, not trapped, because she could find a more suitable career, one that would bolster her fleeting self-esteem rather than forcing her to pursue multiple major figure- and face-defining surgeries. It’s also realistic that she would easily be swayed towards opportunistic ventures, fueled by a consuming idealism, hedged by her best friend Chad’s (Brad Pitt) unintentional extortion idea after tracing a seemingly encrypted CIA document/disc back to Osbourne Cox (Malkovich).

Brad Pitt was remarkable as aptly named Chad, an enthused Hardbodies trainer with a dim IQ, prone to ADHD bouts, dancing in place for no reason, and playing sweet next to Linda’s sour. Simply put, he’s a 10-year old boy with a frosted bouf.

Burn After Reading and the Coen Brothers’ usual shameless dissolution of fidelity, morality, and sanity is funny during the battle, refluxed with a bitter aftertaste. While I appreciate the charm of the clever style the Coens usually parade, Burn After Reading simply doesn’t shine as their best. It was missing a lot of the contrast, acceleration, and wit that they are known for. Instead, it seemed like a guest authoring for South Park, chock full ‘o “for shock’s sake” and f-bombs. It started off well enough, but quickly turned; it was like a brilliant rosebud that was doused with crappy cologne and drowned. What Burn has going for it is a stellar cast who can move mountains with their non-verbal tics.

The bottom line and “moral” is that our government’s top agencies are clueless, perched to protect citizens who are also clueless. Oh, and accidents do happen.

About the Author

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson says these directors/screenwriters rarely disappoint: Peter Greenaway, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Gus van Sant, Gregg Araki. Kris claims that Jake Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy, Desmond Harrington and Casey Affleck are much more than pretty faces.

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