The Coen’s go black and white but the true genius is still as bright as ever. It’s a homage to noir, with the slant of the duos’ unique skewed humour with a little bit of the absurd thrown in. It’s the closest in tone and narrative to Ethan’s short stories (from the collection Gates of Eden). Bill Bob Thornton plays the philosophical ("I’m the barber. I don’t talk much. I just cut the hair") barber Ed Crane, and undoubtedly gives a performance of a lifetime.

Ed Crane is an dour, unhappy barber living in California in the mid-1940s. For Ed the life of a hair-cutter is a thankless one, probably because, in his own words, "I worked in a barber's shop, but I never considered myself a barber.". He goes to work every day, puts in his hours, then returns home to his philandering, alcoholic wife, Doris (Frances McDormand, Joel’s wife). Ed knows that his wife is having an affair with her boss, Big Dave Brewster (James Gandolfini), and even though it doesn't bother him much he concocts a blackmailing scheme to teach her a lesson and provide him with the money to get in on the ground floor of a new enterprise of 'dry cleaning - cleaning without water!'. This is the beginning of a cycle of deceit that leads to murder, cover-ups, and a singular example of judicial irony.

The result is an unconventional, unpredictable thriller with bizarre subplots of alien abduction and a Lolita-like attraction.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older
Special Effects: Well at least you can't see the strings