Appearances Can Be Deceptive

Rating: 9/10 (4 May 2014)

Burn After Reading is about tow gym employees Linda (played by Frances McDormand) and Chad (played by Brad Pitt). They unwittingly come into possession of a CIA agent named Osborne's (played by John Malkovich) memoirs. Believing this to be top-secret government information they try to sell it. Harry, Osborne's wife's lover is brought into this mix of characters. George Clooney plays Harry.
The major theme of the film is idiocy. The Coen Brothers themselves stated this as a theme of the film in an interview. This is very evident in the character's idiotic behavior throughout the film. Chad's character was especially dumb. The character's unintelligent behavior is the main catalyst for the film's development. Idiocy as a theme is evident as Chad and Linda attempt to sell the disc of memoirs to the Russian Embassy. The Coen Brothers have used this theme before. The Big Lebowski also used idiocy as its central theme. The character Walter (played by John Goodman) was an idiot, a lovable, gun- crazy idiot. He would relate any situation back to the war, which would add nothing to the conversation. The Coen Brothers have a true affinity for characterization as is evident in both The Big Lebowski and Burn After Reading. The film constantly focuses on a single character's dumb-founded face. This enforces the theme. The angle of the camera is direct. The scene that best encompasses this is the scene where Chad meets up with Osborne to sell him the memoirs. The camera focuses on Chad's face and allows Brad Pitt's acting to shine. He can really show the expressions of Chad's dumb face. The second is the use of motif. The film keeps the viewer on the outside looking in. We are not part of the action, only viewing it. I believe this adds to the film's over-all feeling. The Coen Brothers are great at creating very original characters. The motif is of single character monologues and two characters intense dialog. Such as Osborne being on the phone with the bank. We are able to develop a better interpretation of his character. He is angry and assumes the banker is an idiot.
This is seen again when Osborne encounters Chad in his car. We are able to see Chad's idiocy shine as he twice repeats, "appearances can be deceptive". This phrase I believe encapsulates the whole them of the film. Chad is an idiot but is trying to sound smart. Appearances can be deceiving, but in the case of this film, no character is capable of appearing smart.
References
Boggs, J. & Petrie, J. (2008). The Art of Watching Films. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies
Coen, E. (Director). (2008). Burn After Reading (DVD) : Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
Coen, J. (Director). (1998). The big Lebowski