Deep entry necessary, but well worth it

Rating: 8/10 (9 February 2016)

The Coens usually combine wit and accessibility in a formula that works for many audiences. Here, the wit is sly, scattered, and arcane, like a foreign delicacy. Slow to bind into one set of meanings, it requires patience; however, in the end, it's worth the effort. The Coens are depicting the dream factory of mid-century Hollywood ("Pictchas"); how it drew marginals into its mainstream; and the competing missions and claims on that industry. Their main observation is about actors and movies, not about ideology; for that reason, the character played by Clooney is a vessel for anybody's ideas. The ideological polarities of 2015 will drive some informed viewers into opposition because the Coens offend almost everyone and tend to use caricature. Woody Allen would have had less trouble making this essay, and the Coens might have looked for a unifying context -- perhaps, with everyone working on a single film, not several. However, Hail Caesar works for those who stay and pay attention, and its final scenes are brilliant and insightful.