Oscar Watch: Burn After Reading

I kick off my 2009 Oscar Watch by watching the Coen brothers’ Burn After Reading.

The dark comedy plays out like a farce, one that I’d love to produce on stage someday. Recently fired CIA analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) is an alcoholic with a bad temper. A draft of his memoirs were put on a disc by his wife Katie (Tilda Swinton), who is looking for records to prepare for a surprise divorce. Katie is having an affair with Harry (George Clooney), a womanizer who surfs the web for dates. One of those dates is Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand), who works at a local gym with a muscle head personal trainer Chad (Brad Pitt.) The real fun begins when Chad runs across the disc and mistakes it as highly classified information.

The cast is a who’s who of A-list celebs, I am surprised that the Coen brothers were able to get such big names to essential play a role in a strong ensemble piece. However each role was nailed down to the smaller role that Pitt took on as Chad. I wasn’t surprised to hear that the Coen brothers wrote each role specifically for the actors they managed to cast.

Like the cast, what made the movie great was the small intricacies and nuances that played into the bigger comedic effect. The exchanges with the confused CIA spooks, trying to piece everything together really stole the show.  I wouldn’t expect anything else from the makers of The Big Lebowski. The style harks back to the Coen’s brothers take on a murder movie with Fargo.

I also can’t get enough of any movie that takes place where I live, I gotta find the park in DC where Clooney kept meeting his dates.

While the movie was nominated for numerous awards, it looks like my first speculation at a nominee came up empty. But still- a movie I recommend everyone to see.

Related posts:

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2. Oscar Watch: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
3. Oscar Watch: The Visitor
4. Oscar Watch: Changeling
5. Oscar Watch: Doubt