“Burn after Reading Destined to Become Cult Classic”

While there don’t seem to be many redeeming qualities found within the Coen brothers on screen universe, their new film Burn After Reading argues that there’s still plenty to laugh at. Their history of award-winning and often puzzling films are notorious for morally reprehensible characters often motivated by greed and a sort of misanthropic bent. True to their form, the Coen brothers here deliver a wildly entertaining, star-studded romp.

The intricately designed plot opens with the firing of CIA agent Osborne Cox(John Malkovich) for his alcoholism ("Drinking problem?! You're a Mormon! Next to you everyone's got a drinking problem!"). Cox’s wife, played by Oscar-winning Tilda Swinton, boasts the record for the shrewdest pediatrician known to man. Through a series of coincidences, a disc containing the memoirs of Cox’s life as a CIA agent finds its way into the hands of two unscrupulous gym employees played by Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand. The odd-ball pair try to blackmail Cox for the information soon finding themselves in way over their heads. But wait, there’s more. Enter Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a sleazy on-line dater who also happens to be married. When Harry meets Linda Litzke (McDormand) he eventually finds himself in the midst of a web of espionage, murder, and deceit. Did I mention he is also having an affair with Tilda Swinton’s character? The plot is so dizzying that its anti-climactic and abrupt payoff is deliberately laughable.

Brad Pitt is a treat to watch against type as a dim-witted gym employee who has little knack for spy games. Despite the humor, the performances do feel a bit contrived at times. Mcdormand more than once seems to be channeling Marge Gunderson from her oscar-winning performance in Fargo. Malkovich and Swinton are perhaps the most fun to watch because unlike most of the rest of the A-list cast, they both play the straight man with humorous consequences. There is a certain kind of exhausting quality to the Coen brothers’ work though. Their characters are always outlandish and detestable, and the Coens seem to take sick pleasure in torturing not only them, but the characters that are truly innocent as well. Think Fargo. The whole plot revolves around the innocent wife who is the ultimate plot device for the rest of the casts’ mayhem. (Let the record show that I happen to love Fargo should anyone deem this a major criticism) This isn’t as much a criticism of their over exaggerated style as it is a commentary on the nuisance it is for anyone with a moral compass to watch their films.

Burn finished the weekend atop the box-office but divided many of the nations top critics. It’s no surprise really. Raizing Arizona followed Blood Simple, The Hudsucker Proxy followed Barton Fink, and The Big Lebowski followed Fargo. What proof do you need aside from this to believe that the Coens make their own rules and consistently play by them too? Burn After Reading was entertaining, but it was a far cry from a lot of movies in their catalogue. But like “The Dude” from Lebowski, something tells me that Burn will abide long after it has left theaters if for no other reason than this: It's at best another genuinely interesting entry into the Coen brothers' history.

3.5/5