Rating: 
Summary: The Man Who Wasn't There Went Nowhere
Review: The Coen brothers go artsy black and white and it works for the most part - the cinematography is wonderful. Great camera angles, intense shadows and wonderful shades of white/gray/black make "The Man Who Wasn't There" really something to look at. However, actors Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand and James Gandolfini, all have done better work before in other films. You'll find a little bit of intrigue and mystery... but the pace is incredibly slow, and outside of Gandolfini's character being stabbed in the neck, not much happens. The film is all dialogue (and it's none of that trademark witty Coen dialogue we've come to love and expect). The story line is weak and for the most part dull. Thornton's dead-pan monotone delivery of his lines and narration almost drove me insane. No lie, when the movie ended, I said to my wife... "Well, that movie sucked!" I've come to expect so much more from the Coen brothers - they are truly gifted in their medium. With classics to their credit like "Raising Arizona", "Fargo", "O Brother Where Art Thou?", "Miller's Crossing", etc... I can't help but put "The Man That Wasn't There" towards the bottom of their list. Sorry - that's my honest review.
Rating: 
Summary: COMES TO LIFE IN BRILLIANT BLACK AND WHITE
Review: The Coen brothers and Billy Bob Thornton strike it big with
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE. Billy Bob Thornton sets the mood for
his character Ed Crain perfectly right from the start, with the
line, "Me, I don't talk much, I just cut the hair", delivered
with the low key, emotionless style of a man who could just as
easily be talking about the hair he sweeps from the floor as
opposed to one beginning the narration of what is to become the
biggest turning point of his life. This style works in perfect
contrast with the overly enthusiastic and ultra dramatic
performances, skillfully put in by Jamas Gandolfini, as Big
Dave, who, depending on your point of view, is either the victim
or the villain, and Tony Shalhous, who plays the slick as a
whistle lawyer, Freddy Ritdenschnider. (please forgive the
spelling). Frances McDormand also does a wonderful job as Ed
Crain's thoroughly flawed wife, Doris. A dramatic, dark comedy,
worth seeing again and again. The making of this movie in black
and white was brilliant.
Thanks, and enjoy,
Tom
Rating: 
Summary: We noticed him
Review: "The Man Who Wasn't There" is the Coen Brother's (Joel and Ethan) film noir about a mild mannered barber Ed (Billy Bob Thorton) who sees an oppertunity to get out of his rut; invest in dry cleaning. To get the start up capital, he blackmails his wife's boss/lover (James Gandolfini). There is an accident Ed kills the man. In the confusion, Ed's wife Doris (Coen Brother's regulor Francis McDormand) is accused. It goes without saying things get even more complicated than that. The Coen Bros. take their cue from 40s and 50s film noir movies like "Double Indemdedy" and "The Third Man"; but it also has a certain attitude that is very modern, like the too many references to pop culture items like flying saucers. It's also modern in it's humor and in it's approach to the central character. The title referes to Ed, who is quiet and reserved. Thornton plays Ed like a sociopath, a man who really dosn't care much for other people; a man who starts to tell you a story, then stops half way through, kills a man, then finishes the story as if nothing ever happened. He finds himself attracted to 16-year-old Birdie (Scarlett Johanson), even though his wife is in desperate need of his help. The movie is shot in black and white. I usually do not like B&W, but it was ok in this case, it was justified in trying to invoke a certain mood. And it works perfectly. This is probably my favorite Coen Bros. movie to date.
Rating: 
Summary: Take a basic noir plot and "look,"
Review: then give the whole thing a half-turn to the left. That's the best way to describe this film, I think ... a basic story that's just a bit out of kilter. And, of course, that's what makes it so watchable. Billy Bob and Gandolfini are damn near excellent, as is Frances. It's not a film that moves smoothly along; you have to stay with it a bit, but it's worth it, promise.
Rating:
Summary: An art "fillum"
Review: Yes, this film contains some fine acting and some clever reproductions of the "film noir" genre from the late 1940s. But the script leaves a lot to be desired, and the directing is at times extraordinarily inadequate. How many times do we need the same shot of a man smoking, staring into the distance, and mumbling a few words of no consequence? The plot has a few twists that are unpredictable, but it's hard to follow, given the poor script. I can imagine that film studies types will find much to cluck about here. I was reminded of the many Ingmar Bergman movies I used to sit through in the 1950s, thinking them quite profound. Having grown up, I realize that they are a bore. This Coen brothers production is more boring than most. Two stars. One of the least of their works.
Rating:
Summary: The Coen Brothers Do It Again
Review: "The Man Who Wasn't There" is a great film release from 2001, starring Billy Bob Thorton, Frances McDormand, Scarlett Johansson, and James Gandolfini. The Joel and Ethan Coen, the Oscar winning writers of "Fargo", prove that their creative minds express great and original entertainment. This gloomy themed movie keeps audiences interested in every scene, besides the black and white scenery. The plot of a barber who begins illegal dry cleaning, then becomes blackmailed, is brilliant. Its combination of mystery, drama, and suspense blends perfectly. The special effects, namely the UFO, add more interesting entertainment value. As the series of events unfold, the timely theme builds, leading to a surprising conclusion. Such movie quality offers a great unforgettable film experience. Billy Bob Thorton beautifully acts his role of Ed Gayne, the barber. Gayne's hard times are expressed greatly, which proves more difficult to accomplish because he doesn't speak often. His narration throughout the film offers another sense of mystery and gloomy effect. Frances McDormand's role as Gayne's wife is performed at her top throughout the film, expressing every emotion accurately. Scarlett Johansson proves that she is one of the few child stars with actual acting talent (she was 16). All other actors also perform their roles greatly. "The Man Who Wasn't There" is a great film that will keep audiences entertained for a long time. There is no other film like it.
Rating:
Summary: A Clever but Only Mildly Entertaining Exercise in Noir Style
Review: I thought O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? was the low point of the Coen Brothers' otherwise remarkably fine body of work, but THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE proves me wrong. This is like a film-school exercise, a demonstration of cleverness in reconstructing a post-war noir and pushing all the elements to extremes. It's so self-consciously stylish and tongue-in-cheek as to utterly defy suspension of disbelief, but seems to take itself too seriously to succeed as a spoof. It's somewhat amusing intellectually, on the meta- level, to see the Coens play with the genre's conventions, but hardly funny enough to justify the 2 hour running time. The gag wears thin long before it's over.Many of the individual scenes and shots brilliantly reference the noir style, with striking high-contrast blacks and whites dominating the frame. And several performances are sufficiently entertaining to repay the time spent watching--especially Tony Shaloub, outstanding as always, playing the fast-talking defense attorney from Sacramento. Richard Jenkins's slightly saturated home-town lawyer is a small treasure. Adam Alexi-Malle makes a splendidly self-impressed piano teacher, and Frances McDormand has several strong scenes, most notably when congratulating the bride at a wedding in Modesto. And Billy Bob Thornton does an admirable job of playing an expressionless one-note character (maybe he should have gotten an Oscar, like Dustin Hoffman got for RAINMAN), but--like the story itself--that wears thin awfully fast. Stylish? Yes. Skilful? You bet. But in the end far from satisfying--as one ought expect from a movie about a gimmicky idea instead of a story about characters we can care about. Sure, the Coens' work is always idea based--RAISING ARIZONA, FARGO, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, for instance--but their success in turning an idea into interesting entertainment has always depended on characters the viewer can identify with. Otherwise, no matter how clever the movie, the bottom line will always be "Who cares?"
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