The Coen Brothers: Cinematic Nomads
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<<< If the Coen Brothers were making a bad phone commercial their
network would sound something like Los Fargasippizonahattenas.
This week, The Coen Brothers, whose careers have spanned over
different decades, locations, and genres have now returned to where it
all started...Texas.
Each film in between their Texas movies, Blood Simple and No Country
for Old Men, has captured the area in which it portrays with a look that
would be hard even for people who are from the area. The credit for
this belongs to the Brothers as well as the cinematographer for a
majority of their films, Roger Deakins
network would sound something like Los Fargasippizonahattenas.
This week, The Coen Brothers, whose careers have spanned over
different decades, locations, and genres have now returned to where it
all started...Texas.
Each film in between their Texas movies, Blood Simple and No Country
for Old Men, has captured the area in which it portrays with a look that
would be hard even for people who are from the area. The credit for
this belongs to the Brothers as well as the cinematographer for a
majority of their films, Roger Deakins
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The destination destination.
Their ideas are so fresh, their stories so unique it seems the only time they actually hit a rough patch critically is
when they repeat themselves (see Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty) locationally.
For many writers location is incidental. For the Coens location is, and has always been, a character. Here's what
I'm saying...
when they repeat themselves (see Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty) locationally.
For many writers location is incidental. For the Coens location is, and has always been, a character. Here's what
I'm saying...
Blood Simple(1984).
The brothers kicked off their career with this noirish western full of cowboy boots, fancy hats,
and wide opened spaces.
Raising Arizona(1987).
The Coens stay in the dry part of the country but move west. This Arizonan comedy starring
Nicholas Cage cemented their critical acclaim.
Fargo(1996).
The movie would probably be criticized as being stereotypical except this is the movie that
perpetuated these stereotypes of the Minnesota/North Dakota area. Also, the brothers are from
Minnesota.
Big Lebowski(1998).
This bit of narration sums it up best: "Sometimes, there's a man, well, he's the man for his time
and place. He fits right in there. And that's the Dude. The Dude, from Los Angeles. And even if
he's a lazy man - and the Dude was most certainly that. Quite possibly the laziest in all of Los
Angeles County, which would place him high in the runnin' for laziest worldwide."
The Hudsucker Proxy(1994).
This slapstick homage to older movies could only exist in a big city like New York. It's big
buildings and bigger companies wouldn't work elsewhere.
Barton Fink(1991).
A combination of the two above movies, this Dramedy encompasses both New York and Los
Angeles.
O Brother, Where Art Though?(2000)
This southern story is chock full of chain gangs and Country Awards winning music. Distinctly
Mississippian, this movie could not have been better placed and is one of their largest
successes.
No Country for Old Men(2007).
Like most Coen movies, this movie had Roger Deakins as a cinematographer. No Country, along
with The Valley of Elah, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, are
beautifully shot movies with Deakins released in 2007 with a western influence.
The brothers kicked off their career with this noirish western full of cowboy boots, fancy hats,
and wide opened spaces.
Raising Arizona(1987).
The Coens stay in the dry part of the country but move west. This Arizonan comedy starring
Nicholas Cage cemented their critical acclaim.
Fargo(1996).
The movie would probably be criticized as being stereotypical except this is the movie that
perpetuated these stereotypes of the Minnesota/North Dakota area. Also, the brothers are from
Minnesota.
Big Lebowski(1998).
This bit of narration sums it up best: "Sometimes, there's a man, well, he's the man for his time
and place. He fits right in there. And that's the Dude. The Dude, from Los Angeles. And even if
he's a lazy man - and the Dude was most certainly that. Quite possibly the laziest in all of Los
Angeles County, which would place him high in the runnin' for laziest worldwide."
The Hudsucker Proxy(1994).
This slapstick homage to older movies could only exist in a big city like New York. It's big
buildings and bigger companies wouldn't work elsewhere.
Barton Fink(1991).
A combination of the two above movies, this Dramedy encompasses both New York and Los
Angeles.
O Brother, Where Art Though?(2000)
This southern story is chock full of chain gangs and Country Awards winning music. Distinctly
Mississippian, this movie could not have been better placed and is one of their largest
successes.
No Country for Old Men(2007).
Like most Coen movies, this movie had Roger Deakins as a cinematographer. No Country, along
with The Valley of Elah, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, are
beautifully shot movies with Deakins released in 2007 with a western influence.
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What do you think? crodgers@somebodyisfromhere.com
****The following was previously published in November 2007****
<<< Some people like the Coen Brothers. Some don't (I do!).
Not only do they change pace constantly adding both comedies
and dramas to their repetoir. They also change locations. Fargo.
Los Angeles, Mississippi. Texas. You get the idea.
With Burn After Reading, they move on to an area ripe for both
drama and comedy and often at the same time (particularly as
they go on about lipstick). The Coen's hit Washington DC.
Not only do they change pace constantly adding both comedies
and dramas to their repetoir. They also change locations. Fargo.
Los Angeles, Mississippi. Texas. You get the idea.
With Burn After Reading, they move on to an area ripe for both
drama and comedy and often at the same time (particularly as
they go on about lipstick). The Coen's hit Washington DC.
***September 2008 Update.***
***November 2009 Update.***
<<< Steven Soderbergh said in the most recent Empire magazine that you can know a lot about a director by their movies. If
you were to infer the Coen Brother's world outlook from their movies, you'd probably have to start with their serious movies.
While, their first movie, Blood Simple, seemed to focus more on entertainment, movies like Millers Crossing and No Country for
Old Men took a downright dark world view. Meanwhile, their comedies, most prominently The Big Lebowski, suggest you might
as well just go with it.
So what does their newest movie, The Serious Man, suggest? Well, it's a dramedy that suggests both. Following a scene fit for
Halloween (a possibly dead man comes over soup), the movie follows a midwestern professor and a string of unfortunate events
that happens to him. Like Gob, he wants to know why these things are happening to him and asks just about anybody who will
listen to him. Much smaller in scale then most of their movies, and certainly very Jewish, Somebodyisfromhere.com found the
movie entertaining in a distinctly Coen kind of way
you were to infer the Coen Brother's world outlook from their movies, you'd probably have to start with their serious movies.
While, their first movie, Blood Simple, seemed to focus more on entertainment, movies like Millers Crossing and No Country for
Old Men took a downright dark world view. Meanwhile, their comedies, most prominently The Big Lebowski, suggest you might
as well just go with it.
So what does their newest movie, The Serious Man, suggest? Well, it's a dramedy that suggests both. Following a scene fit for
Halloween (a possibly dead man comes over soup), the movie follows a midwestern professor and a string of unfortunate events
that happens to him. Like Gob, he wants to know why these things are happening to him and asks just about anybody who will
listen to him. Much smaller in scale then most of their movies, and certainly very Jewish, Somebodyisfromhere.com found the
movie entertaining in a distinctly Coen kind of way