O Brother Where Art Thou

Joel Coen, UK/France/USA, 2000, 106 minutes

If someone was to say "I'm going to adapt Homer's Odyssey and set in the 1930s Deep South", what would your initial response be? I would laugh and wave them away. However, once again the Coen Brothers (The Big Lebowski, Fargo) deliver a superb piece of cinema. Three prisoners, Everett, Pete and Delmar (George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson) escape from the chain gang and go on the run throughout the deep south, meeting spouses, relatives and various characters along the way to finding themselves to be the biggest bluegrass band in the deep South.

While it is pleasant for those who have read 'The Odyssey' to chuckle at the allegory, it is by no means necessary to enjoy the movie. As with other Coen Brothers films, they are character driven, with Clooney's intelligence and comments coupled by Blake Nelson's grass-eating demeanour. The soundtrack is one of the best in recent years, with excellent performances that truly aid the evokation of the 1930s; sepia-toned background does the rest. The movie flows wonderfully, has some excellent Coen-trademark comedy moments (Clooney's catchphrase "Damn, we're in a tight spot" always gets a chuckle on repeated viewings) and is a film that matures with watching, much like a fine wine. Is there a movie concept that the Coen brothers can't excel in (Intolerable Cruelty excepted)? O Brother, Where Art Thou is one of their greatest and yet less hailed efforts, and well worth 106 minutes of your time.

Review by Niko Ovenden
Written for EUFS Programme Autumn 2005