Flick of The Day:The Big Lebowski

It would be hard to argue against the Coen Brothers as the most consistently entertaining and talented film-makers of the last 25 years. They have consistently delivered great cinema across many genres, from their debut with the suspenseful thriller Blood Simple to the gangster epic Millers Crossing, the darkly comic Fargo and their Oscar winning western True Grit. Perhaps their best work, or at least their most quotable and comic picture is 1998's The Big Lebowski. Today's flick of the day, it is a deeply funny comic riff on a Raymond Chandleresque caper.

The Big Lebowski

Jeff Bridges, in a once in a lifetime performance, is Jeff 'The Dude' Lebowski, a layabout bowler and a Creedence Clearwater fan in 1991 Los Angeles. The Dude spends his days bowling and arguing with his two friends, ex-surfer Donny played by Steve Buscemi and Vietnam vet cum psychotic Walter played by the incomparable John Goodman. Arriving home one evening, he walks in on two hoodlums looking to collect a debt owed by a Jeffrey Lewbowski and his trophy wife Bunny to a Jackie Treehorn. One of them decides to urinate on The Dude's rug when the case of mistaken identity becomes apparent. The Dude decides to contact the big Lebowski and get compensation for his soiled rug. He is quickly drawn into a web of double crosses as he seeks to get to the bottom of the disappearance of Bunny Lebowski involving a trio of German nihilists, a pornographer,  a teenage car thief, a private detective, an artist who describes her work as "strongly vaginal" and Dude's crazy friend Walther.

The Dude: And, you know, he's got emotional problems, man. 

Walter Sobchak: You mean... beyond pacifism?

This is a gem of a movie, an absurdist take on the kind of hard boiled detective tales so often set in Los Angeles and penned by the likes of Chandler and Hammet. It has the kind of gleefully bizarre cast of characters that one only encounters in a Coen Brothers picture. Bridges' The Dude is a latter day stoner Philip Marlowe and his interactions with his crazy Vietnam obsesses friend played by Goodman are a highlight of the film. 

Donny: Are these the Nazis, Walter? 

Walter Sobchak: No, Donny, these men are nihilists. There's nothing to be afraid of.

Less of a cogent tale then a series of encounters between The Dude and the oddballs which populate Southern California. In that sense, it is perhaps the most quotable film of all time with so many witty one liners, it is difficult to pick your favourite. Add this to a series of bizarre dream sequences  set to the music of Kenny Rogers and you have a film that really can't be missed.

The Dude: Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man. 

Malibu Police Chief: Mr. Treehorn draws a lot of water in this town. You don't draw shit, Lebowski. Now we got a nice, quiet little beach community here, and I aim to keep it nice and quiet. So let me make something plain. I don't like you sucking around, bothering our citizens, Lebowski. I don't like your jerk-off name. I don't like your jerk-off face. I don't like your jerk-off behavior, and I don't like you, jerk-off. Do I make myself clear? 

The Dude: [after a pause] I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. 

A commercial failure on its release in 1998, perhaps because its unstructured tale of idiocy clashed with the kind of crowd attracted to the Coen's work after the roaring success of Fargo. In the years since, it has come to be seen as the true classic it is and indeed has spawned a whole cottage industry of Dude related paraphernalia and even a festival.

Walter Sobchak: Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you like about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.

Ultimately, this is the kind of film you either love or hate. You either buy in to the bizarre circumstances and run with it or you don't. It is a brilliant film held together by a fine ensemble cast and with perhaps the best script the Coens have ever written. A real must see.

Da Fino, Private Snoop: I'm a brother shamus! 

The Dude: Brother Seamus? Like an Irish monk? 

Da Fino, Private Snoop: What the fuck are you talking about?

Flick of The Day: Miller's Crossing

We recently reviewed Joel & Ethan Coen's most recent film, the superlative True Grit, and today's film is another fine example of their varied career in Hollywood over the last 25 years from the edgy thriller Blood Simple, to the slacker comedy/ L.A Noir of The Big Lebowski, they have brought their own unique style and look to a wealth of different genre pictures. Today's film, Miller's Crossing,  is a homage to the classic gangster pictures and detective fiction of the 1930's particularly the work of Dashell Hammett.

Miller's Crossing

It is I think an indication of both the intelligence of the average American cinemagoer and the skill or lack thereof of the marketing teams in Hollywood studios that this film was a relative box office failure upon its release in 1990. Of its budget of $14m, it returned only $5m, a drop in ocean compared to some of the more famous failures over the years, but a shocking one for a film of this class combining excellent performances from its central characters with one of the best scripts the Coen's have produced. 

Leo O'Bannion: You hear about Rug? 

Tom Reagan: Yeah, RIP. 

Leo O'Bannion: They took his hair, Tommy. Jesus, that's strange, why would they do that? 

Tom Reagan: Maybe it was injuns.

Gabiel Byrne's career has been pockmarked with roles in some awful films since he first came onto the scene on Irish TV in the early '80s. For every The Usual Suspects, there has been an End of Days or The Man in the Iron Mask, which is unfortunate as he is a decent actor when given good material to work with such as his recent turn in HBO's In Treatment. He steals almost every scene in Miller's as Tom Reagan, a well connected advisor to local boss Leo O'Bannon, played with a subtle toughness by Albert Finney. The film opens with a rival gangster, Johnny Caspar, played by Coen repertory member Jon Polito asking permission to kill a local bookie who has crossed him, Bernie Bernbaum. Bernbaum is played with an irritating sliminess by John Turturro another Coen regular. Leo is of a mind to protect Bernie as his girlfriend is Bernie's sister Verna, ably played by Marcia Gay Harden. Against Tom's advice, he refuses Caspar leading to a gang war. Tom appears to switch sides before playing everyone against each other for his own ends leading to a fitting and satisfying denouement.

The script is packed full of dialogue that feels very much of the era, with lots of obscure slang such as "yegg" and "twist" which give the script an air of authenticity. That said, its not all hard boiled stuff and there is a great deal of humour scattered throughout the film.

Verna: What you doing? 

Tom Reagan: Walking... 

Verna: Don't let on any more than you have to. 

Tom Reagan: ...in the rain.

A special mention must also go to the cinematography of Barry Sonnenfeld, who would go on to achieve some renown as a director. All of the scenes in town where shot using Kodak film stock while those pivotal scenes played out in the woods were shot using Fuji film because this film had more muted green tones  and suited the ambience. One of the best scenes in the film is the perfectly choreographed shoot-out at Leo's house where a relaxing Leo turns the tables and a Tommy gun on a pair of assassins who come to rub him out, all set to a version of "Danny Boy" recorded for the film by legendary Irish tenor Frank Patterson.

As I said at the outset, it is a crying shame that more people didn't see this film upon its release though it has thankfully found a following on DVD and it was critically lauded at the time. I had the pleasure of seeing this on the big screen at a film festival a couple of years ago and it is fair to say that the cinematography deserves a big canvas. With a career best performance from Gabriel Byrne and fine turns from Albert Finney and John Turturro with a great script, this is a film you just have to see.

Flick of The Day: True Grit

It is the rarest of things, a sequel that is superior to its original. Godfather Part II is the most obvious one to come to mind but then that is the continuation of a tale rather then a new chapter. Today's film is not so much a remake as a re-imagining of the 1969 classic which won John Wayne his solitary Oscar. Ethan & Joel Coen returned to the source material of Charles Portis novel though there are enough similarities to warrant a comparison with the John Wayne version.

The film is narrated by the adult Mattie Ross, as she tells the tale of how her father was murdered by the layabout Tom Chaney and how she set off to seek retribution as her 14 year old self, played by the newcomer and precocious talent Hailee Steinfeld. She hires the meanest marshal in the territories, Reuben J Cogburn and together they fall in with a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf and set off into the wilderness in search of Chaney. Jeff Bridges takes up the role of Cogburn, which John Wayne had made his own and creates his own character out of it. His is more broken down by life and an incurable love of whiskey but retains the honour and toughness which Wayne brought to the role. It is a very fine performance. Special mention must also go to Matt Damon, who far outstrips Glen Campbell's performance in the original. LaBoeuf is arrogant and the quintessential Texan with brash spurs and chaps yet still retains a likeability which counter balances the gruff Cogburn.

Josh Brolin plays the feckless and psychotic Tom Chaney with a menacing idiocy. While all of the main performances are of the highest order, the script is one of the Coens best efforts. It retains some of the levity of the novel while giving the story a grittiness consistent with a modern appraisal of the old west. 

"Rooster Cogburn: We'll sleep here and follow in the morning.
Mattie Ross: But we promised to bury the poor soul inside!
Rooster Cogburn: Ground's too hard. Them men wanted a decent burial, they should have got themselves killed in summer"

The cinematography of Roger Deakins recalls some of the classic Westerns with its grand vistas and harsh lighting of the sparse landscape. The further they venture from society and into the wilderness, the more barren the landscape becomes and Deakins camera captures every inch.

In summary, this is a fine film which stands on its own apart from the original and breathes new life into a great tale, giving it a more fitting ending then the 1969 version. This is not to criticize the original but the ending seems more fitting to that which has come before it. I recommend you see this film, is well worth a trip to the cinema.