ofpsmith The year is 1949. Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) is a barber with a generally uneventful life. He suspects his wife Doris Crane (Frances McDormand) is having an affair with her boss Dave Brewster (James Gandolfini), and he has little connection with her. So when a customer at the barber shop Creighton Tolliver (Jon Polito) tells Ed about putting up $10,000 in the new technology of dry cleaning, Ed decides to blackmail Brewster anonymously to get the money. The plan goes awry and the movie turns into a suspense based drama. The movie is great. The classic black and white cinematography, along with the acting cement the laconic late 40s tone. I always enjoy the Coen brothers, and although The Man who Wasn't There is one of the less known works it should not be overlooked.

Raul Faust With all due respected, I've just finished watching this film and I really can't understand why people enjoy it so much. I mean, the story is intelligent and I can agree with that, but there are so many twists that I couldn't, any longer, get what was going on. I didn't understand who killed who, and the reason for that. And what about the aliens? What do they have to do with the whole story? Also, I got confused with Frank and Big Daver; in my opinion, they were portrayed by too similar actors, with caused some mess in a black and white picture. I understand that there is some great acting-- with exception of Scarlett Johansson , who looked shallow in this, which is unusual for her--, but the movie as a whole is just too boring, slow and twisted to be enjoyable. This is the second time I have problems with a Joel Coen work, and maybe that's just my personal view on his productions-- or maybe it's just quite bad anyways.

jimbo-53-186511 Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) is a barber working at his in laws' barber shop. He's relatively unhappy with his life and suspects that his wife Doris Crane (Frances McDormand) is having an affair with her boss Big Dave Brewster (James Gandolfini). Ed gets talking to one of his customers who offers him a stake in his dry cleaning business if Ed stumps up $10,000. Ed doesn't have the money, but hatches a plan to get the money. However, Ed quickly learns that his simple and seemingly flawless plan ends up having far reaching consequences.I know that the Coen Brothers have a die hard cult following of fans, but I've never really been one of them. In fact, I've actually disliked nearly all of their films that I've seen. However, this film is different - this film really impressed me.This film is basically a Cautionary Tale - the Coen Brothers have actually made their audience consider the devastating consequences resulting in being greedy. They also make the audience consider the devastating consequences that one poorly judged action can have on many different people.The Coen Brothers have also created many characters that are not only well developed, but that we can also identify with. Ed Crane is probably the best example; for me he's an idealist, someone who wants to be recognised and remembered, someone who wants to be somebody. This becomes more apparent when he meets Birdy Abunbdas (Scarlett Johansson). Birdy becomes his project or possibly even his redemption. What I liked about Ed is that he was a flawed person rather than a bad person which meant that it was easier to relate to and care for his character. Birdy was an interesting character and it was a shame that her character wasn't developed quite as much as I hoped for - there was a lot of potential with her character which the Coen brothers didn't explore for some reason.I'll admit that in the early stages of this film that I thought the narrative was a bit shaky and found it a bit nonsensical, but as the film progressed I found myself more and more engrossed and thought that everything ended up being tied together nicely. As mentioned. it's a Cautionary Tale and is a film that will certainly make you think.The film is well-shot and the 1940's era has been captured well. Acting was roundly good across the board with Gandolfini and Coen brothers favourite McDormand arguably putting in the best performances.Overall then this is a very good film (and that's coming from someone who isn't a big Coen brothers fan). I thought that the writing was sharp, the acting was good, the plot was interesting (after a bit of a plodding first half). This is a good piece of noir and a very good film in general. Highly recommended for fans of noir or fans of the Coen brothers.

namashi_1 The Coen Bros are amongst the most talented & influential filmmakers working in filmdom today & I expected 'The Man Who Wasn't There' to be a yet another stunner by the Oscar-Winners. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed. Its An Average Fare, that relies on a story that's predicable. 'The Man Who Wasn't There' Synopsis: A laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss & lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong.'The Man Who Wasn't There' offers nothing new to the genre of neo-noir. I was engrossed, but only in parts, particularly in the first-hour, which offers some very interesting sequences. But, the second-hour, is a complete misfire. Also, the lethargic pacing acts as a deterrent. The Coen Bros certainly aren't in their elements this time around. Their Screenplay has a few impressive moments, but otherwise, its predictable. Joel Coen's Direction, however, is atmospheric. Cinematography is excellent. Editing is not crisp enough. Art Design is fabulous.Performance-Wise: Billy Bob Thornton delivers a believable performance. Frances McDormand is fantastic. She's the real scene-stealer here! The Late/Great James Gandolfini shines in a brief role, while Tony Shalhoub is first-rate. Scarlett Johansson is awkward. Richard Jenkins is ever-effective. On the whole, 'The Man Who Wasn't There' scores less on pluses.