The Man Who Wasn't There

The Coen brothers' THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE is a brilliantly photographed black-and-white absurdist noir set in Santa Rosa, California, in 1949. Ed Crane (the outstanding Billy Bob Thornton) is a slow-moving, barely talking barber who doesn't seem to want much out of life. He has virtually no relationship with his wife, Doris (Frances McDormand), who has more fun with her boss, Big Dave (James Gandolfini). But when a strange character (Jon Polito) lets it be known that he's looking for a silent partner to finance his dream business (something he calls dry cleaning), Ed sees a possible way out of his doldrums. Just like any good James M. Cain novel (which the Coens cited as a major influence on the story), blackmail, deceit, violence, murder, and double crossing ensue, all with the magic Coen twists and turns. THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE looks simply magnificent; the cinematography, the outfits, and the set designs perfectly capture this intriguing post-WWII paranoid world embodied by misfits, cheats, simpletons, con men, and other ne'er-do-wells. Thornton, who also supplies the wonderfully droll narration, gives a bravura performance as Ed, the everyman who has never strayed from the straight and narrow--until now. Always with a Chesterfield in his mouth, he wanders from scene to scene almost as if he's a spectator--even though he's at the center of everything that goes on. The supporting cast, as usual in a Coen brothers film, is outstanding, including McDormand, Gandolfini, Polito, Tony Shalhoub, Richard Jenkins, and Scarlett Johansson as a young potential piano prodigy.

Cast:

Year - Presenter		Award Category		Result		Name
2001 - Cannes		Best Director		Winner		Joel Coen

"...A fully realized, cohesive, and -- the real surprise -- completely 'serious' homage to the Hollywood genre, perhaps the best neo-noir since THE TWO JAKES..." -- Paul Arthur , (Film Comment)

"...One of [the Coen brothers's] most haunting and rewarding works..." -- Stephen Farber , (Movieline's Hollywood Life)

"...It's shot in clean, crisp black and white, it's elegant compositions masterfully framed and lit....The Coens are masters of the offbeat and bizarre..." -- Philip Kemp , (Sight and Sound)

"...It's probable that most filmmakers love making movies, but few of them express this love with such voracious, crazy ardor....THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE moves with the stately grace of the Beethoven that decorates the soundtrack..." -- A. O. Scott , (New York Times)

"...The remarkable Thornton never hits a false note..." -- Mike Clark , (USA Today)

"...Succulently retro, vintage-Hollywood-goes-bizarro film noir..." -- Owen Gleiberman , (Entertainment Weekly)

"...So assured and perceptive in it's style, it's like a voluptuous feast..." -- Roger Ebert , (Chicago Sun-Times)

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