The Coens have created another Original Masterpiece

Rating: Null/10 (9 November 2008)

The Coens have done it again! A year after their instant classic No Country For Old Men, they create another original and ambitious film! Burn After Reading is not for the faint-hearted. It has a lot of dark humor, it has a tone unlike anything I have seen in years. Comparable to their classic Fargo, this film has great writing and an amazing ensemble to back it up. Frances McDormand gives another great performance, one that is similar and different to her Oscar-nominated performance as Marge Gunderson more than 10 years ago. She deserves her second Oscar nomination! Brad Pitt continues to amaze me. After having his best performance in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which is also his finest work and one of the best films of the decade, here he comes again, in a totally opposite performance. He will sure get the most buzz out of this movie, and as of now, he delivers an Oscar-Worthy performance. John Malkovich, never having really seen a lot of his work, gives such a great, cold performance. George Clooney, after also having a good year at the Oscars in 2007, delivers his best performance. I usually do not like him much, but in this movie, he proved he is a very versatile actor. Tilda Swinton is also very good, but has less amount of work to play with.
The script is just so well thought out and written. This is truly a film for idiocy and stupidity, and the script explores all of that. The ending is in a way as provocative as No Country For Old Men.The film has beautiful music and cinematography, in a different way to the Coens' other films.
Burn After Reading is just as great as the Coens' best films. It proves they are going further and further into the generation's list of best writers and directors. An amazing piece of black comedy, drama, and originality.