Pleasant surprise

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 2008)

I really didn't know what to expect from the film at first, though 'Burn After Reading' managed to exceed any expectation I could've had.
The cast performs tremendously well, Brad Pitt's character in particular, who actually made me laugh more than once, (which doesn't happen quite often when I watch a comedy film nowadays). But also Frances McDormand has some pretty funny moments. George Clooney and John Malkovich, however, I thought are less interesting than the other characters, although their acting is top notch! Tilda Swinton isn't in the film for laughs, but rather to tie loose ends together and she does that rather well with her more than bitchy character.
The plot is also quite interesting, though maybe confusing at first. Actually, the whole story revolves around nothing important. Then everything gets blown out of proportion because of the stupidity of the characters, which makes this film so funny. All of the characters are tied together in a complex way, with some pretty dark comedy as a result. Truth to be told, dark humor is required in order to like this film. It aren't really the jokes that make the film interesting, but rather the situations and the responses to those situations by the characters.
All in all, I think anyone who appreciates dark humor and an unconventional plot, will also appreciate 'Burn After Reaing'.