6.5/10

Rating: 6/10 (10 March 2016)

Despite being, admittedly, not a fan of the Coens, I was still really excited for this film, just by looking at the cast. Add that I have always been fascinated with movies on Hollywood, from "The Player" to "Mullholland Drive", I have loved so many of them for the most various reasons, yet unfortunately "Hail, Ceasar" is a slight disappointment even if in its own right it s a very fine film.
Where it fails is in figuring out what it is. It has a very messy tone and ever messier story lines and their coherence to this story is always questionable. Way to many times a scene passes by, which is perfectly fine and entertaining, yet as soon as it has gone by you wonder what was the point of it and why was it in the film, and more often than not you aren't given answers, it was just a fun scene.
Moreover, there simply isn't any really interesting hook or character to stick with. The stakes always seem so low and uninteresting. The whole film is strikingly void of any subtext and that seems surreal when talking about a Hollywood picture about Hollywood. When the film ended I kind of got its basic message, but I was left pretty empty handed for the rest. If only it was funny as it thought it was I am sure there would have been loads to dig into, but the whole comedic aspect of the film is undermined by distant characters and a lack of edge and nastiness.
Still, there is plenty to be enjoyed in the throwback. As much as its satire may be almost absent, there's lots of light irony in it that is loads of fun. Josh Brolin is terrific and is given the most interesting character of them all. All of the cameos aren't really that distracting, instead they are quite fittingly integrated even if Jonah Hill was criminally underused in a role that was perfect for him and he managed to nail in what is probably sixty seconds of screen time. The love letter to the Hollywood of the '50s really works despite everything around it, as a film fan it was quite a delight even if it wasn't as delightful as it should have been. Deakins nails another one here and his work here is pretty understated even if it is one of the best parts of the picture.
If you're a film fan and a true lover of the classic Hollywood, as me, you will find it hard to dismiss the film overall and you will find some fun to be had even if you will be definitely yearning for much more.