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The Coen Brothers
Profiled by: Charlene Lydon
Joel and Ethan Coen were born in the northern US city of Minneapolis, Minnesota and before they even hit their teens, they had saved up enough money to buy a Super 8 film camera and began remaking movies and shows they had seen on TV. And thus began one of the most prolific and successful partnerships in movie history.
The brothers made their first feature Blood Simple in 1984. It was a huge success in the independent movie circuit and is often cited as the film that kick-started the American indie explosion that peaked in the 90’s. After their success with the film noir Blood Simple, they moved on to their other most commonly used genre, the screwball comedy with the 1987 film Raising Arizona. This film was a massive hit, both critically and financially. The Coen Brothers had their first major hit on their hands and this was the point where people sat up and paid attention. Despite their foray into comedy being so successful, they opted to return to noir for their next film, the gangster epic, Miller’s Crossing. An instant classic, the twisty-turny plot, the bloody death scenes and the stellar cast impressed the critics and entertained audiences worldwide. After their first pairing with John Turturro in Miller’s Crossing, they decided to use him for their next film, Barton Fink, a quiet, introspective film about a troubled writer looking for inspiration. This is one of their least accessible films, but certainly one that found its audience and is revered by the people that connected with it and even went on to win the Palme D’Or at Cannes.
In keeping with their pattern of comedy-thriller-comedy-thriller, their next film, The Hudsucker Proxy was a very clear homage to the screwball comedies of the 1940’s. It was a wonderfully intricate and funny film, full of magical symbolism and fine comic performances. Despite its charm, it failed to find an audience and was a flop at the box office. It also got mediocre reviews as critics were unsure of its artistic merit. The film cost $25million and earned back only a meagre $3million. After the failure of The Hudsucker Proxy the brothers went home to Minnesota and used its snowy backdrop as inspiration for crime caper, Fargo. This film was a huge success at the box office and won two Oscars, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress for Frances McDormand’s turn as pregnant cop Marge Gunderson.
The Coen Brothers next film was a hit with critics and stoners alike, The Big Lebowski was a typically Coen experience, encompassing all their usual themes and plot devices. It was instantly regarded as a cult classic and its lead character “The Dude” became a hero to millions in the slacker generation. From LA to the Deep South, the Coen Brothers next film saw them enter the musical genre. O Brother Where Art Thou? was a loving exploration of the folk music of the early 20th Century, this film was responsible for a major revival of bluegrass music. Its soundtrack sold millions and the film itself was well received at the box office. It made a lovable idiot out of heart-throb George Clooney and gave him his first break away from his rom-com status.
After several comedies, the Coens turned to bleak crime drama with the very minimalist The Man Who Wasn’t There. This was filmed in black and white and was a quiet, sombre character study, very nicely played by leading man Billy Bob Thornton. The film was not a crowd-pleaser but did well on the arthouse circuit. From there, the Coen Brothers went back to George Clooney for their first rom-com Intolerable Cruelty. Another attempt to bring back the screwball comedy, this film is a complex comedy of errors that was more of a box office success than Hudsucker, but not much of a critical success.
Their next film, The Ladykillers, was a universally reviled remake of the Ealing comedy classic of the same name. It starred Tom Hanks in the leading role and while it was nice to see him return to straight comedy, the performance and the film in general was perceived as flat. With their two most recent films being critically underwhelming, the Coen Brothers came back with a bang in 2007 with their adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel No Country For Old Men. With an amazing cast, a great script and some beautiful cinematography, they were on to a winner. It seemed that everyone fell in love with their dusty little crime movie. They have said that it is their version of a horror movie, with the main villain portrayed as a monster and the film contains several long suspense sequences. Unusually, the film contains no non-diagetic music. It has no score and the soundscape is used to create atmosphere and tension. This film proved to be Oscar gold for the Coen Brothers as it scooped four awards, including Best Picture.
They turned back to comedy this year and made Burn After Reading, a film about wannabe blackmailers/gym workers who become embroiled in a plot that is clearly beyond them. It contains some great jokes and wonderful comic performances. It was a success in all regards.
From Day One, the Coen Brothers have maintained their own style. The have created a fine line between very different genres of film noir and screwball comedy. In almost all of their films, they walk that line. Their plots are full of crazy and unpredictable twists and turns and almost always involve a botched attempt at a crime. They tend to repeatedly use the same actors, such as John Turturro, Steve Buscemi and Frances McDormand and they like to write roles that encourage actors with a certain image to play against type (e.g. Brad Pitt in Burn After Reading, Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski).
They don’t like to be associated with creating the American indie genre, but these two brothers from Minneapolis have surely contributed a whole lot to it. They have made consistently good movies. They are funny and tight enough to appeal to mass audiences and deep and exquisitely crafted enough to appeal to critics. They have never strayed from their own vision, never “sold out”. They have gained the trust of a money hungry industry and are one of the lucky few to be allowed complete control of their films. Ethan Coen has been quoted as saying:
“The movie people let us play in the corner of the sandbox and leave us alone. We're happy here.”
As long as they keep making the wonderful films they’ve given us in the past, we’re happy too. With four projects upcoming, it seems they don’t intend to rest anytime soon. Good for us!
Previous Director Spotlights:
Francis Ford Coppola
George Lucas
Stephen Spielberg
Oliver Stone
James Cameron
Peter Jackson
Sam Raimi
George A Romero
Terry Gilliam
David Lynch
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