Not a comedic "scorcher" but very intriguing just the same

Rating: 8/10 (20 September 2008)

Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) finds himself seriously demoted at the CIA. After all he's done for the country, he gets taken down because he happens to drink a "bit too much"? Fuming, Cox quits the cloak and dagger business and decides to write an autobiographical expose of the spy game. His wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton) is aghast at his decision but needs to run to the grocery for cheese to serve at their cocktail party. Coming to the affair will be her secret lover, Harry (George Clooney) and his author-wife. Harry works for the Treasury Department and, unknown to Katie, he is juggling several extramarital "things." Meanwhile, Chad (Brad Pitt) and Linda (Frances McDormand) are much-poorer employees for a capital fitness chain called Hardbodies. Linda wants plastic surgery in the worst way, four different procedures, in fact, that up to thousands of dollars and her medical insurance won't pay. Chad is sympathetic, so when they find a disc at the gym, which happens to be the rough draft of Cox's tell-all, they decide to engage in a little blackmail. But, can these two less-than-brilliant fitness trainers really tread water in the vast ocean of espionage? We'll see, even as all of these players cross paths on the way to hush money! This is a lively, intriguing film which, nevertheless, may not be the Coens best work but which is certainly far above the Hollywood grind-em-out machine. The Coens have a great knack for creating memorable characters and this film is replete with them. From Pitt's wacky, dimwitted exercise nut to McDormand's lovelorn, aging fitness instructor and back to Clooney's needy, unfaithful government agent, here is a cast of characters to savor. Malkovich, Swinton, JK Simmons, Richard Jenkins, and all of the other lesser players are quite fine, too. The setting in Washington D.C. has been shot with care, showing the city at its best, and the costumes are very well selected. All of the film's production values are nice, too. Lastly, although the film doesn't quite come together for a "big finish", the writing and direction make the viewer swoon with admiration for the brilliant minds that create such stuff. So, although it is not a "scorcher", Burn After Reading is the kind of flick that gets everyone fired up about film-making.