Burn After Reading, but not before watching

By Faheem Ahmed     10/2/08 7:00pm

A womanizer. Two idiotic gym employees. An ex-spy. A frigid pediatrician. A misplaced disc with government secrets. Anyone can spin a political satire out of these plot elements, but it is the super-talented Coen brothers who have have spinned them into a smart and entertaining statement. Fresh from their award-winning epic No Country for Old Men, the duo decided to switch it up with a dark comedy featuring an all-star cast.What many casual watchers don't realize is that the Coen brothers have released a couple of other successful comedies, such as O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the cult classic The Big Lebowski. Both of these movies had a layer of profundity under their vividly unique cinematography and plot concept of an absurd, poorly-hatched plan that goes horribly wrong. Burn After Reading will join their ranks as another worthwhile comedy released by Ethan and Joel Coen.

John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich) plays Osbourne Cox, a man who is having a very bad day. After the federal government demotes him, he discovers his wife is planning a divorce. Tilda Swinton, that ice cold bitch from The Chronicles of Narnia, turns in a fine performance as another ice cold bitch. The divorce company raids the contents of his computer, loads them onto a compact disc and mistakenly leaves the disk at the local gym. The disc eventually lands in the hands of gym managers Frances McDormand (Fargo) and Brad Pitt (Fight Club). When they decide to blackmail Malkovich, hilarity ensues.

From the very first establishing shot, the Coen brothers place their signature stamp on the film. Their sweeping camera lens makes even a drab, colorless government office look like a dramatic landscape. The film takes place in Washington, D.C., and viewers will enjoy familiar landmarks in the background such as the Jefferson Memorial and Georgetown University.

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While the film is not overtly comedic, the zany characters and their utter incompetence drive the plot. The tone is a breath of fresh air after all the slapstick bathroom humor sported by every "comedy" in recent days. (The Epic Movie writers need to be shot immediately.)

Malkovich breaks his routine portrayal of cool and intelligent characters as the easily irascible CIA spy; he drops the "F bomb" at least fifty times in the first thirty minutes and every time he does so, it gets funnier and funnier.

Pitt, frosted tips and all, also has a memorable role as Chad the personal trainer. While he may have not been the ideal choice for this buffoonish character, Pitt's charisma and innocence win over the audience in the end, and the bad dancing really helps.

But the actor who steals the show is George Clooney (Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Ocean's Thirteen, Ocean's 300: Attack of the Spartans). Clooney plays a paranoid member of the Treasury who is weirdly entangled in a web of random occurrences. He also happens to be banging every woman in the movie. Clooney infuses his character with smarminess, weird allergies and a strange fetish for sex devices; basically, a sleazier version of Bill Clinton.

The one role that seems unnecessary is McDormand's. Clearly attempting to make her character colorful, she instead comes across as loud and annoying and remains overshadowed by the other characters.

Overall, this film is a savvy political satire - a commentary on how little the government cares about us. While the ending is a bit abrupt and kind of weak, the rest of the film is extremely entertaining and strongly recommended.

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