Coen bros provide an antidote to spydom

Rating: 7/10 (11 November 2008)

Yes, this movie is a lesser Coen Bros movie, the story hardly makes sense, the characters are mostly idiots and the human race is in general treated with contempt, but that didn't stop me enjoying it. The Coens simply don't employ bad actors, though Brad Pitt went beyond his range a bit as one of two airhead gym employees (the other is played by Frances McDormand) who try to blackmail a former CIA operative. That operative is played, all stops out, by John Malkovich, and his icy wife by Tilda Swinton. Her lover is played by George Clooney, being a real sleaze for once. There is also a wonderful cameo by JK Simmons as a CIA bigwig which probably does that organisation more damage than the Bay of Pigs invasion. As this character says, the story doesn't make sense, but if you stick around (the film is only 90 minutes long) you will be treated to some pretty subversive comedy and a feast of good acting. I happen to see this film the day after "A quantum of solace: the Coen Brothers are a good antidote to the idiocies of the spy genre.