Smaller The Better

Rating: 7/10 (14 September 2008)

Many people absolutely adored last year's Coen brothers effort No Country For Old Men. It was praised both by the critics and the general public and won Best Picture. Facing a great expectation, No Country is no followed by the new spy thriller comedy "Burn After Reading". Despite the exciting premise and the excellent acting, the film suffers from fractioned storyline and some very annoying characters.
The story is definitely not something that can be explained briefly. It is very convoluted, layered and with many intertwining plots. The general plot of the film follows a disc that contains sensitive materials of an ex-CIA analyst. After a botched blackmail attempt, the events that follow creates a dark and humorous result.
The film's strongest point is the acting. The film is full of A list actors: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich and JK Simmons just to mention a few. Even when you cannot like the characters they are playing at all, you are still awed by their acting capabilities. Brat Pitt and JK Simmons are the best out of all in this movie.
Similarly, the film makes a good use of black comedy. Despite the fact you usually don't laugh out loud to horrific deaths in films, the excellently written, twisted dialogues cannot help but to bring a smile to your face. This film is a very good example of dry humor. The use of black comedy is a trademark in many Coen films. There are many parts in the film where you burst out laughing for long periods of time. The issue in connection with the overall picture of the film is that the humor is rather spread apart with frequent dry bits.
Similarly, despite the excellent cast and the inclusion of praised Coen film elements, the film's story stands on the weak end. There is a lot of things going in the film and it is not told in a very effective way. There are plot holes and many events in the film are left unexplained. Not only that, the film has a very slow beginning where the central "plot device" is not even shown until about 20 minutes in.
Finally, some of the characters are so irritating and bothering that they take some of the enjoyment out of the film. It is a bit of a shame to have talented actors and actresses playing such forgettable characters. The amusing aspect that you tend to notice and enjoy the performance of smaller characters. Brad Pitt and JK Simmons, again, are prime examples. The ending, despite its abruptness, is a very funny one. It does not explain everything but the humor is top notch and very well done. Overall, the advice when seeing Burn After Reading is not to think of it as a pure comedy. As I have mentioned before, you will not be laughing for the whole duration of the film and there are some serious parts as well. I suggest going to a matinée showing for this film due to the fact that I've noticed that many people found certain aspects of the film unappealing.
7/10
Matinée