A soft-spoken barber blackmails his wife's boss for money to
invest in a dry cleaning scam, but things go terribly wrong. CRIME/DRAMA
|
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)Written and Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, Tony Shalhoub, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Badalucco, Jon Polito Oscar Nominations - Best Cinematography |
The Man Who Wasn't There finally saw the Coens put their own personal spin on a film noir. It's a complex story with a lot of twists and turns, but the performances alone will keep audiences entertained.
Billy Bob Thornton plays a laconic barber named Ed Crane, who is essentially a sociopath who causes a whole mess after trying to invest in dry cleaning. Billy Bob delivers a stellar performance and plays Crane as the kind of guy you wouldn't notice in a crowd. The story proved to be one of the Coens' most intriguing, but I felt like a good chunk of it could have been cut. The whole subplot with Scarlett Johansson's character's piano playing didn't need to be there and just helped make the film overly long. Still, the film is really good but in the Coens' entire scope of work, it's nothing too special. |