Burn After Reading

"Burn After Reading"
Joel and Ethan Coen, 2008

"Burn After Reading," the latest film by the Coen Brothers, opens with a tongue-in-cheek, Google-maps-like zoom-in on CIA headquarters, in Washington, D.C. Thus the filmmakers, from the get-go, present their film as a cartoon; and its zany plot and characters follow suit. Osbourne Cox, who is played by John Malkovich, is a foul-mouthed, low-level CIA operative who has just been fired by his incompetent superiors; they cite, to hilarious effect, the fact that he drinks alcohol as the primary reason for his being sacked. Cox decides to publish a memoir in retaliation, but things inevitably spiral out of control. His wife, Linda (Frances McDormand), is an aloof pediatrician who is having an affair with an endearingly uncouth agent named Harry (a hilarious George Clooney). She is also getting a divorce from Cox, so she burns all of his information – and, unwittingly, his memoir – onto a CD. The CD, though, gets left behind at a gym, which is found by two moronic employees, Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt), who foolishly decide to blackmail Cox.

The plot ventures into even wilder territory, and from there, we assume that the purpose of the film, especially coming on the heels of their most recent, and difficult, film, “No Country For Old Men,” is to simply provide pure entertainment. We witness the Coens' trademark visual style, with its unusual, playful perspectives and low angle shots. (The film is beautifully photographed by the cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, instead of their longtime collaborator – and equally capable – Roger Deakins.)

But this apparent lack of substance is deceiving: underneath Lubezki's luminous cinematography and the characters' amusing idiosyncrasies lies a dark undercurrent. The humor, which elicits nervous chuckles from its viewers, stems more from the awkward nature of the situations than on the guffaw-inducing – and better-written – characters in “The Big Lebowski.” The characters recklessly sleep with each another, betray one other, and kill each other in shockingly violent ways.

All of this makes for a black comedy that resonates with its audience, but it doesn't result in a focused film. “Burn After Reading” feels like a mish-mash of moods, arbitrarily swinging from the hilarious to the shockingly frigid. There is a pessimistic outlook at play here, a disillusionment with incompetent authority figures, and with stupid people who are more successful than they deserve.

The primary focus, then, is not on the humorous nature of the characters, but on how people's failure to maintain healthy relationships with each other results in very dangerous circumstances. This is familiar territory for the Coens, but it feels like they are simultaneously embracing the nihilistic principles of their characters in “No Country For Old Men,” and trying to escape from those very dark themes. The message is conflicted and difficult to enumerate, but the filmmakers, with “Burn After Reading,” seem to be saying that when things, inevitably, take a turn for the worst, all we can do is laugh at the ridiculous nature of it all. With such a disillusioned outlook, “Burn After Reading” is an entertaining and, ultimately, disheartening experience.

First Viewed: 9/13/08, in 35 mm projection - IMDb