Another Win for the Coens

Rating: 8/10 (29 August 2009)

An alcoholic, terminated CIA agent (John Malkovich) decides to write his memoirs. His wife, who is cheating on him with another federal agent (George Clooney), accidentally steals the memoir when she is retrieving the couple's financial records. This disc, due to the negligence of a law clerk, then falls into the hands of two fitness trainers (Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt), one of whom is also sleeping with the adulterous federal agent. From there, mayhem and blackmail ensue.
Can the Coen Brothers make a bad film? I mean, I suppose the answer is yes. But I have yet to see one. Without skipping a beat, they go from a serious Oscar-winning drama ("No Country For Old Men") to a silly, effective comedy. And they excel in both genres equally well. I think some people may have been let down by "Burn" because they expected another Oscar film, but these people missed the point.
The plot is so intertwined (not unlike past Coen films, like "The Big Lebowski") that trying to figure out what's going on and who is working for who is half the fun. And every character has their idiosyncrasies, making them each unique and funny in their own way. Being able to write such a script and plot is a gift, and the fact they've done this successfully multiple times really makes me feel that the Coens are going to go down as some of the greatest creators of their generation.
Fans of "The Big Lebowski" will like this one. The style is similar, and the cast is amazing: Pitt, Clooney and Malkovich? You really have to be a cynical person to not be interested in this one.