Plan Goes Awry Strikes Again

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2013)

WARNING: Review Includes SPOILERS
This film follows the typical pattern of a Coen brothers movie. The "plan goes awry" theme is the central premise, though the Coens have claimed idiocy is the main theme. Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) is after four different cosmetic surgeries, and after being denied by her HMO, she is desperate to come up with the money. This is the main plot, and all other characters are weaved into this storyline. Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) works with Linda at the Hardbodies gym, and works as her accomplice to get a reward from Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) after they find what they believe to be his disc containing sensitive CIA intelligence at Hardbodies. Unbeknownst to them, however, Osborne had recently been fired from the CIA, and the disc was simply his memoirs. Osborne's wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton), has been having an extramarital affair with Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a man also employed by the CIA in the treasury department. The disc found by Chad and Linda was created by Katie. She saved Osborne's memoirs and personal financial information on the disc in an effort to stake her claim in his funds before filing for divorce, as advised by her attorney. Believing the disc to be valuable, Linda and Chad locate Osborne and inform him they are in possession of his sensitive information, and they will return it to him for a fee. Osborne is not amused, nor is he cooperative. When they realize they will not get a "Good Samaritan Tax" from Osborne, Linda and Chad decide to take the information to the Russian embassy.
The characters in this film are exaggerated and completely absurd, Chad in particular. It was clear Brad Pitt had fun with this character, and he was the highlight of the film. It was a loss to the movie when he was killed off at about the halfway mark, but the Coens knew what they were doing. Chad was such a lovable character that the audience could really appreciate him when he was on screen, but he did not have too much screen time. Viewers did not have the opportunity to become bored by him. He was humorous in his absurdity, and the film would not have worked without him. His death supports the theme in that it was one of the unintended outcomes of Linda's plan.
Linda's plan was to take the disc and sell the "sensitive information" to the Russians. When the Russians demand more information, Linda makes Chad break into Osborne's home to steal more. Unfortunately, this does not work out as planned, much like the plan in Fargo, another of the Coens' films. Chad is ultimately shot dead by Harry while in Osborne's home. This scene most compliments the plan gone awry theme. Linda was not out to hurt anyone, she only wanted to look better. Money was her motivation, and unfortunately, her selfish plan left several casualties in its wake.
The Coens commented on social problems throughout the film. Linda's incessant search for the perfect body with money as a motivator for her actions shows that vanity has become an unfortunate social tradition. Further, when the CIA officers are on screen, they take a nonchalant position. They attempt to make sense of it all, but, in the end, decide they have learned nothing. They basically sweep all the problems under the rug â€“ a comment on the current state of those in power.
The Coens employed the use of the musical score as a means to communicate emotion. The deep drumming instills in viewers the intensity of scenes. The suspenseful music functions to create structural rhythms and stimulate emotional responses (Boggs & Petrie, 2008, 292). The score prepares us for action by building dramatic tension, and when it is played, we become subconsciously aware that exciting action is about to take place. The music compliments the theme by being played when plans are about to fall through.
Burn After Reading was edited in such a way that quick cutting between scenes fosters excitement in the viewer. The editing is smooth and unobtrusive, successfully communicating the fast pace of the story. This supports the theme in that is it fast and chaotic, much like when the result of a plan is unintended and continues to snowball into worse outcomes.
References Boggs, J. & Petrie, J. (2008). The art of watching films. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies. Coen, E. & Coen, J. (Directors & Producers). (2008). Burn after reading. Motion Picture. United States: Focus Features.