Starring: John Malkovich, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Release Date: September 12, 2008
Running Time: 96 min
MPAA Rating: R
Distributor: Focus Features

Burn After Reading opens with a view that seems to be from outer space, pinpointing the east coast of America--the land of opportunity. As it slowly descends and creeps closer, eventually delving into Virginia's CIA Headquarters, we realize that this view might be from a bomb; a Coen Brothers bomb that extracts moral values from its characters, twisting and turning them before they’re all led blindly to a state of misanthropy. Humans have no regard for other’s emotions. What means the most to one person means absolutely nothing to the next. An evil world indeed, but it is a Coen world where the outside world pales in comparison as far as evil goes.

What Joel and Ethan Coen have done throughout their career is pit casual people against odds that are much more lethal and powerful than they could possibly be. This is their formula, and although they’ve been constantly changing venues, the ramifications that follow have always stayed true to their original formula. But there’s something new in Burn After Reading that I can’t quite put my finger on. The Brothers turn in a movie that contains 96 minutes of pure comedic delight and, strangely, the same amount of dread that I can’t recollect seeing anywhere else in recent cinema. It’s something rare, something that can’t possibly be missed

A disc containing top secret information is found in the locker room of a Washington D.C. gym. Employees Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt) discover that it belongs to recently fired CIA analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich). He’s already in the deep end for being fired because he drinks too much, and his stability with his wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) is a little shaky. Linda is in dire need, or so she thinks, of four reconstructive surgeries to enhance her looks. Chad on the other hand is mind-boggled at the information on the disc and is willing to give it back and be a ‘Good Samaritan,’ until Linda suggests they blackmail Cox for money. The way Chad bobs his head to his ipod music and the way he adores his fitness job shows a man satisfied with his life. But slowly he becomes a soul being sucked of its innocence.

Cox, the only logical character in the movie, has a No Country for Old Men moment with his father on his boat: He finds the world to be littered with morons, and is at a loss for words as he tries to figure out how his disc ended up in the hands of two of those morons. In a more heartbreaking scene that personifies the ugliness of the characters, he tells his wife he wants to write a memoir...and she laughs in his face, showing no respect.

While that is all going on, Linda still manages to get involved with a man she meets on an internet dating service. Turns out he’s US marshal working for the CIA who brags that he hasn’t used his gun in twenty years. Though if he has to he says that it will come naturally. His name is Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a lactose intolerant sex maniac who's having an affair with Osborne’s wife. Linda and Harry are both looking for love in the wrong places. Their scenes together achieve a true poignancy because Linda, unlike Harry, believes she’s far from perfect and for her to have a guy like him around it helps her feel like a moral person.

That secret disc binds together a web of characters that are self minded, corrupt, and oblivious to the world outside of their own realm. If I were to go any further into detail, a true cinematic miracle would be ruined for viewers. But what I can say is that every performance deserves recognition. From the minor characters played by J.K. Simmons and David Rasche, to the major characters played by Clooney, Pitt, McDormand, Swinton and Malkovich, each one of them submits their usual acting ways and to pursue characters that are normally found in cartoons. The camera work is focused on these characters in a distorted way--at times it seems to be set at their feet looking up, indicating their confusion. But it would be a mistake to think the Coen’s weren’t going for something deeper; each character represents a facet of American society, and how we tear one another apart if the result will benefit us.

Only the greats can get away with taunting themselves. The Coen brothers do just that here. They have the guts to create characters who admit that they have no clue about what is going on in their world. Burn After Reading is literally the complete package. All of the Coen’s arsenal is on display, and the result is a work that ranks along side Fargo, The Man Who Wasn’t There and No Country for Old Men.

Film Rating: **** out of ****

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Comments (4)

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im DYING to see this! the ensamble looks utterly dynamic in every way. and if you say the film collectively demonstrates aspects from their previous work, i almost want to strangle myself for not taking advantage of the weekend to see this film. from the moment i saw the trailer a couple months ago, i had my heart set on seeing this! i will prevail, one day...theres always next weekend =P

myheartsnsocal , September 15, 2008

Burns A Smile On Your Face

I saw this at an advance screening last week and was amazed at how hilarious this movie is! The audience and I couldn't stop laughing! All of the stars gave great comedic performances, but it's Pitt who steals the show with his obsession with Gatorade, dancing and listening to his iPod. I have not seen a movie like this in theatres for a long time! You're constantly laughing, even when people are dying. BURN AFTER READING, a movie about middle-age idiots in Washington, will burn a smile on your face!

SizzlingPopcorn.com , September 15, 2008 | url

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I saw this movie yesterday and I have to say that it's one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time. I was laughing throughout the whole thing beginning to end. Everyone needs to see this movie!

Lydia , September 15, 2008 | url

Burn after Reading

Brad Pitt can be so funny, as long as he's not taking himself too seriously... in any case, it's about time someone made good use of his habitually spastic arm movements

movie buff , September 20, 2008 | url

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