Just Because They Can..

It couldn't be said any other way. Plain and simple, the Coen brothers have a distinct way of creating films, just because they can. They play with the views of reality vs tall tale, while twisting the minds of audiences in conceit and fabricated plots. They claim, 'based off a true story' in Fargo, but is it? Absolutely not. It's the genius of these two put together that create such a masterful manipulation in the eyes of the audience.

In 2000, the brothers released O Brother, Where Art Though?, a semi-mockery of Homer's The Odyssey (though the Coens established they were thinking of The Odyssey just as much as they were thinking of The Wizard of Oz). This film seems to be a Coen classic, and fits in with every aspect of their 'autuer theory'. To start off, the naming of the characters...George Clooney plays the main character, Everett McGill. Now as I read in a review by The Boston Phoenix, this name is a joke to those who watch Twin Peaks because Evertt McGill is the actor that played Big Ed. Now in No Country for Old Men, the villian is named, Anton Chigurh. Now Chigurh sounds like 'sugar' and I'd say he is anything but sweet. Same with Leonard Smalls (more like HUGE) in Raising Arizona. It seems the Coens like to throw in little jokes like these, just because they can.

Just like the ridiculous names, the Coens are also known for their meddling in reality vs. fantasy, or more of tall tales. In O Brother, Where Art Thou?, there are plenty of scenes that seem so realistic, but the idea of it actually happening, is quite absurd once you actually think about it. And I found that same feeling in Raising Arizona with the quintuplets, as well as the dumbness of the cops in Fargo. There is a particular scene I found in a clip from You Tube, and it's about 1:30 into it. It shows people dressed in all white coming through the forest and surrounding the three convicts. It is almost an eery feeling, and since it gives you that feel, it could seem realistic, but in all reality, we know its nothing more than a fable. Here is that clip:



All in all, I think it is very evident that the Coen brothers have a distinct style that lets them do what they want, and create ridiculously good movies, just because.

COEN BROTHERS

By far one, well two, of my favorite directors. The best part about watching the Coen Brothers' films has got to be noting how much enjoyment they must have gotten by putting everything together. You can just picture them directing each film in such a way that they want to pull the best reactions out of the audience, and just put scenes in for fun. Their use of dry humor is so prevalent as well in all three of the films we watched. I think it takes true talent to pull comedy out of the darkest of situations, and that is something seen especially in No Country for Old Men. They also have a remarkable talent for creating the most the devious, and pure-evil villains in movie history (in my opinion). I don't really know that you could create a scarier character than Anton Chigurh, and make it believable (aka not a make-believe ghostly villain).

Overall these are two movie-making geniuses, and it is with so much pride that we can say they come from a town not so far.