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The Man
Who Wasn't There (2001)
 
Review
The Coen brothers invite us into an
expertly built black-and-white 1940s world of babblers, schemers and
tricksters of classical, at times Hitchcockian proportions in this
inverted whodunnit. Billy Bob Thornton's narrator takes us through a
clever premise about a barber who finds that his wife is having an
affair with his friend, and decides to carry out an elaborate
revenge plot. Needless to say, things don't go exactly as planned,
and the Coens let the Thornton character go from bump to bump on his
way to some sort of closure. The Man Who Wasn't There is a
parable-heavy, philosophical film with lots of undertones of dark
humour. It's always interesting, but also too meandering and
unfocused, especially as the story progresses and the Coens seem to
be looking more and more desperately for a conclusion. The
meaninglessness of it all is an obvious point made by the
filmmakers, but alas this discussion ends up feeling a bit too...
well, meaningless. There are superb performances all over, not least
from Richard Jenkins and Tony Shalhoub, which is why it is also a
bit of a surprise that Frances McDormand doesn't get more freedom to
roam with her part.
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