Reactions to this interesting black-and-white film noir are likely to depend on whether you like the Coen brothers' sensibility or you don't. It will certainly not be to everyone's taste. The principal character, well played by Billy Bob Thornton, is a taciturn barber in a small California town. He's intentionally a nobody in a nobody setting who gets caught up in a spider's web of interlocking crimes. I won't say anything about the plot, which is a variation on the scenarios of other noir films. It's strength lies in the odd, often humorous perspective that the Coen brothers bring to all their films. This one is different than some of their previous work because the humor is, for the most part, subtler and the principal characters are intended to be ordinary people living ordinary, uninteresting lives in a mostly uninteresting way. But the acting is excellent, drawing on the talents of actors like Frances McDormand who are regulars in Coen films, newcomers to their stable (James Galdofini) and the young Scarlette Johanssen. My wife and I are Coen devotees, so we liked it. Others may find it slow-moving before it finally gets going. There's no one in the movie to like, not even Johanssen in the end. It's in black and white, which many film-goers don't care for. And film noir is film noir -- a passion for some, not so for others. See it or don't accordingly.
Review of The Man Who Wasn't There
