- You look at things, and your look changes them. And you know what happened in the real thing or what would happen if you didn't stick your nose in there. The Coen brothers have recently become one of my favorite directors. They shoot unusually, tastefully, on a certain topic that I really like. "The man who was not" does not fall out of the general line.
1949, Santa Rosa, California. Silent hairdresser Ed Crane leisurely cuts customers in his salon, while his wife spins cheques with his boss, haberdasher Big Dave, who recently saved up money for a new store. Suddenly, Ed gets the opportunity to get rich on the nascent business of chemical cleaning clothes, and in order to acquire capital, he blackmails Big Dave, realizing that he can achieve success in life only by going to extreme measures.
The theme of the film, like so many other Cohen films, is that they want to show the irreversible consequences of even a minor change, or “smart” thought. This film kind of continues the tradition of “Fargo”, my favorite films of the brothers. True, it is more intelligent, and I like the plot more, but the theme is the same. You need money to get it, you need to go to desperate measures that lead to a series of irreversible deaths. Approximately the same theme was in their first film “Just Blood”, but there it was, in my opinion, not the main topic, there were more important inner experiences of the hero than here.
It all started out as a drama. The voiceover of the hero Billy Bob Torton talked about his worthless life, about the fact that he does not like receptions and parties, and in general, it was clear from his face that he does not like anything at all. But when the chance came, he decided not to miss it. What would any of us do in his place? Probably the same thing.
In terms of acting. The main role in the film was played by Billy Bob Thorton. For me, the actor is not very famous, I watched few films with him, and those were mostly supporting roles, but, nevertheless, his acting I always liked. His behavior, facial expressions, just images. This is the best movie I’ve seen with him. However, almost throughout the film, only one emotion was written on his face - from slight despair to deep despair. But how... The film is very good. I'm not going to say that this is the best Cohen movies, but the fact that the script is one of the best is that, in terms of the impact, the semantic power of the final scene, the strength of the spirit of the musical inserts, the strong play of the actors who help there better get into the situation. This black and white movie is pretty much everything. We can only end with the words of Billy Bob Thorton: - I came home, but the house was empty. I was a ghost. I didn't notice people, people didn't notice me. I was a hairdresser.Original