"O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Rated PG-13
*****/*****
A movie as delightful imaginative, and different as this rarely comes along. When it does, it's likely to be from the Coen brothers. Although they have had their share of films that have been anything but delightful (the darkly humorous Fargo being one example), their films are always teeming with great characters, witty dialogue, and show-stopping visuals. And this one is no exception.
O Brother is a VERY loose take on Homer's The Odyssey. It feels much more like a homespun tale of the South that owes more to Gulliver’s Travels than anything from Homer. George Clooney stars as Ulysses Everett McGill, the fast-talking, prison escapee who is short on common sense during the Great Depression. He is chained to two other rather stupid prisoners. There is Coen veteran John Turturro as Pete and Tim Blake Nelson as Delmar. Their goal is to find a treasure of one million dollars buried near Everett's old home before the whole valley is flooded. On their way they encounter numerous colorful people and crazy situations. There is the Cyclopes(another veteran, John Goodman) and even the sirens seen in the original novel.
The Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan who wrote the screenplay) confess to not even reading the Odyessy, and it shows. It's not that that is such a bad thing, but you can clearly tell it owes little to the epic, due to its incredible originality. Their amazing collaboration has deservedly won them an Oscar nomination (the high points of the screenplay being its originality and witty dialogue). However there are many other things in this film that makes it so good. The acting is very solid on the part of the three main characters and most of the minor characters as well. Also the music (which plays a major part of the film) is a historic compelation of bluegrass and other southern music that make this movie easily enjoyable. Aside from those high points, the best part of this film is the direction by Joel Coen. It is chock full o' perfectly composed shots and subtle beauty. If you like the Coen brother's, you'll definitely enjoy this. And if you don't like the Coen's, see this movie anyway.
