Writer: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (Screenplay) Homer (Poem)
Starring: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, Chris Thomas King, Charles Durning
Plot: In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.
Tagline – Sometimes, you have to lose your way to get back home
Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Wacky Comedy
Story: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Starts when three prisoners Everett (Clooney), Pete (Turturro) and Delmar (Nelson) escape from prison, going on a race across country in search of a treasure before it goes for good.
Along the way the three must figure out how to stay ahead of the law which puts them in a series of comical events along the way until they run into a salesman Big Dan Teague (Goodman) who is puts them against their match.
Thoughts on O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Characters – Everett is the brains of the three, he isn’t the strongest with this either, he tries to keep the guys together as they need to stay away from the law, he pushes them to take risks along the way too. Pete is the other fellow escapee that wants to be in charge, he will follow Everett as long as he can follow his dreams to get to the money. Delmar is the dumbest member of the group he makes all the mistakes along the way putting the friends in a bigger problem in search for the money. Big Dan is one of the many characters they meet along the way, one that makes a big impact on the adventure.
Performances – George Clooney is good in the leading role, going against the typecast of a pretty guy which he has been making a reputation for himself, John Turturro showed us once again that he can make any role work well, with Tim Blake Nelson getting the best lines which shows he can hang with the biggest names in Hollywood. The rest of the cast do bring us plenty of the laughs with the extremes of the characters.
Story – The story follows three criminals in search of treasure and their hapless journey across country to locate it. They meet a string of colourfully people along the way, some who help and others than hinder. This does follow the trends of comedy films which leaves our character into a mixed of events to make a simple journey never going the way they are planning them to. We do get a few twists along the way which change our opinions on the characters too.
Adventure/Crime/Comedy – The adventure takes our three convicts across country meeting the colourful characters along the way, this shows us the criminal world they are from and dealing with the people from, we also get the comedy involved in the film from just what happens along the way.
Settings – The settings take us across a string of different Southern America towns which plays into he backward way of thinking the people in the area would have.
Scene of the Movie – The KKK rescue.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We don’t see enough of the lawman after them.
Final Thoughts – This is a wacky crime comedy that will see people in the audience laugh at times, it will however turn people in the audience off too.
Overall: Crime comedy with enough laughs along the way.
Rating