O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?

2000

As always, the Coen brothers have come up with an inspired and creative idea for their film. Starting with the barest outline of Homer's Odyssey,(by their own admission, neither brother has read the book!) they've set the story in depression-era Mississippi, made Ulysses an escapee from a chain gang, and filled the movie with the best music heard on screen all year. Unfortunately, it just doesn't come together. Although the cinematography is often breathtaking, the acting is cheesy and cartoonish, and the screenplay meanders in a slow and often boring way. There are some funny vignettes involving a gathering of singing and dancing Ku Klux Klansmen and BabyFace Nelson machine-gunning cows, but in between the story plods along. It only comes alive when one of the characters starts to sing (lipsync) the terrific bluegrass music. In between, it falls flat. Instead of seeing the film, buy the CD and listen t o it at home!

2 Stars

NJB

George Clooney and John Turturro have just escaped from a Mississippi chain gang in the most recent offering from the Coen brothers. Explained as an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, the escapees have various encounters and adventures as they try to get home where a large stash of cash awaits them. Typically, the brilliance of the Coen brothers movies lies in the eccentric characters and the witty humor. While this film starts out strong, it quickly falls apart as the eccentricities of the characters becomes tiresome and annyoing and the witty humor is replaced with mindless slapstick. Clooney does a pretty good job with the only really good role in the film; Turturro is vastly underused. Don't waste your time with this one- go rent Fargo to see the Coen brothers at their best.

2 Stars

CDF