Not excellent but a good and likable little watch

Rating: 7/10 (5 September 2015)

With the Coen brothers you maybe expect a great film, filled to the brim with smart jokes and a super engaging plot. With Burn After Reading you kind of get both but just not as much as you'd like, sure the movie is funny and the story gets oddly thrilling after a little while, but I did feel maybe this was not what they were going for. Nevertheless the Coen's do create something intriguing and different and also add in a cast that is just top class really, I could say they squander the chance to use them fully but in any way, the movie is better having them in it.
The story basically revolves around a few different things, we have John Malkovich's character Osbourne Cox who knows his wife (Tilda Swinton) is up to something. George Clooney plays a player of sorts, married but definitely wanting some things on the side, Brad Pitt alongside Frances McDormand as gym workers who find some CIA files(but aren't really all that important). All the things that go on you could say are intertwined together and I think that is what the Coen's achieve well as they seem to be able to mix everything well but also fit it into the relatively short running time.
As for the brothers direction we see a kind of fast paced approach, the writing also means that the characters lines are really speedy, the plot does actually gain from this as it never gets bogged down in boring chatter. I think the best part of having the Coen's on this movie is that it can at times get weirdly dark humour and then seemingly seconds later a kind of silly joke backs it up too, they make it funny in a few ways, but it isn't always that hilarious. I can see why some people and critics disliked the movie, it starts very slow and after 20 to 30 minutes I felt maybe this would progress into a piece of pretentious movie making but I was mistaken. Don't get me wrong the movie isn't great and I was far from loving it but I did like it and I think many will too if you haven't seen it, worth a re-watch actually one day.
The Coen's achieve in this movie what I feel they wanted, to make each character a complete idiot, everyone in this has their own insane issues or stupid actions, it culminates at the end in which I felt was a strong ending. Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography also gives us a nice vibe within all the comedy, some of the shots onto the stars faces are great and the camera moves fast quite a bit, it not only draws you into the picture but also lets you enjoy the little things the movie has to offer (Brad Pitt chewing gum is somehow engaging).
I think although this is not the Coen brothers best work it still stands up and shows us what they can do with comedy yet again. I think they wanted fun and they got it, not only is the film good entertainment but it also brings us characters that by the end whether we care about them or not, are still enjoyable to watch. I also just want to commend Brad Pitt and George Clooney for their roles here I mean Pitt is hilarious at times and really gets into the role; he makes ordinary scenes more lively. Clooney is at his comedic best and we don't always see it from him, the jokes the script gives him are delivered well and there is one seen when he is kind of a little shocked in the park (won't ruin the plot) and the faces he makes are just fantastic.