Pure Coen genius!

Rating: 8/10 (2 October 2008)

I just managed to watch the film yesterday and I have to admit that I consider it already as one of my favourites not just among the films made by the Coens, but also in general. Sure, if someone compares it to last year's "No Country", "BWR" might seem a little "light" or, as some fellow viewers have put it, "pointless" or even "rather stupid". I wouldn't like to disagree with the people that didn't like the film, since, when it comes to art, we all know that points of view and tastes can be as many as the grinds of sand on a beach. However -and in my opinion- two things could be universally admitted: a) Every and each member of "Burn after reading" all-star cast puts on a fabulous performance: John Malkovich as the ex-CIA analyst who's flipped out right after his firing from the "firm", Tilda Swinton as the cold-blooded "career woman", George Clooney as the "classic" womanizer, Frances McDormand as the insecure (yet absolutely determined when it comes down to getting her cosmetic surgeries done) all-American female and (my personal favourite) Brad Pitt as the totally clueless gym employee. b) Despite the fact that this flick is under the "comedy/farce" genre, it is actually one of the most "political" films of the Coens, in a very smart yet "underground" manner, covering a very wide variety of issues concerning the American society, such as the condition of "holly matrimony" in the USA nowadays (apparently, every married man or woman in US seems to be "doing" everyone else except their "better half" without any hesitations), the way that the American State behaves to people that seemingly have "served well" their country for many years (John Malkovich's character in this case), the fact that the average American ("Linda Litzke" in the case) is willing to "sell" his/her country to the enemy (Russians) for something as simple as having his/her ass and breasts fixed and, finally, the annoying -especially if you are white and you belong to the middle/upper class of the US society, like all of the main characters in the movie- fact that each and every American probably carries a certain amount of pure stupidity and ignorance. In other words, "Burn after reading" even though it does not really "take off" at any point during its 95 minutes- is perhaps the best way to say "America, this is who you are, today" in the most hilarious yet discrete manner imaginable. I,.e., «The Coen's manner». Two thumbs up!