ByThe Coen Brothers present us with the most nefarious, absurdly idiotic, and intensely repulsive characters, yet somehow manage to make us fall in love with them. This is true of all the Coens’ films, and Burn After Reading is no exception.
This zany comedy is about as far from the massively successful bloodfest, No Country For Old Men (2007) as possible, with the exceptions being the superb character development and bitingly funny and often poignant dialogue.
The first of these “can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em” characters is CIA systems analyst Osborne Cox, played snobbishly by John Malkovich. Cox has issues, but seems to believe wearing a bow tie and acting like a liturgical SOB nullifies them. Malkovich plays this cankered soul with precision as only he could.
We soon find out that Cox’s recent firing from the CIA is the least of his worries when a top secret file of his falls into the hands of two bumbling meat-headed personal trainers (Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt) who attempt to blackmail him with its sensitive contents. Pitt is charming as a know-nothing crack-up. He’s displayed extraordinary acting talent before in films like Se7en (1995), Babel (2006), and Fight Club (1999), but we’ve only caught fleeting glimpses of this jester which proves to be quite a treat.
McDormand is an exceptional actress, a favorite of the Coens for obvious reasons, and plays the conflicted Linda Litzke incisively. George Clooney is deceptively likable as the conspicuously vain Harry Pfarrer who quite literally is happy with any and all attention afforded him by the opposite sex; nevermind the fact that he’s already happily married. He and Litzke meet online and seem to bond. Tilda Swinton rounds out this ensemble cast as Katie, Cox’s ice cold wife, who just happens to also be sexually involved with Pfarrer. You know, the regular Coen brothers fodder.
Although the characters are developed well, the Coens leave us without a central figure. They’re focus is spread far too thin resulting in under-developed themes. It feels like several funny little stories rather than the one great story it could have been.
The plot, though skillfully crafted with its chimerically dizzying high-stakes espionage, internet dating, blackmail, random violence, love triangles, alcoholism, and plastic surgery, seems to ebb into the backdrop rather than become the driving force of the film. The over-the-top characters are an attempt to sweep this fact under the rug. It works well enough, but keeps this film from approaching the greatness of their other similiar work, namely, Raising Arizona.
