A misunderstood instant classic

Rating: 9/10 (1 April 2016)

Many emotions came to me as I was watching 'Hail, Caesar!'. There was shock, laughter and confusion. Only the Coen Bros. can pull that off flawlessly and that's exactly what 'Hail, Caesar!' does.Just like Eddie Mannix says in the film 'Hail, Caesar!' is a prestigious film that dives into old Hollywood and shows a glimpse at the curtain of Hollywood movie magic. 'Hail, Caesar!' is the best movie about Hollywood in the 1950s since Sunset Boulevard.
Hail, Caesar! stars Josh Brolin who plays Eddie Mannix, a Hollywood fixer, that has to find the biggest movie star Baird Whitlock, played by George Clooney, so he can finish filming the studio's biggest movie, 'Hail, Caesar!'. But that's not all this movies about. We have Mannix trying to figure out his life, fix a Hollywood actresses image and getting a cowboy actor to do a dramatic role. This movie is basically about everything. When I heard people saying that this movie was bad and complicated it reminded me of people's first reaction to Inherent Vice. But after seeing 'Hail, Caesar!' I can definitely say that this movie is pretty straightforward but can get weird, Coen Bros. weird. It's a really convicting screenplay with great direction from the Coens.
The performances are great in 'Hail, Caesar!'.This has to be the most star studded cast of 2016. We have the Coen Bros. staples like Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton but we also have Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Wayne Knight and newcomer Alden Ehrenreich. Ehrenreich gives the standout performance as Hobie Doyle. His character is an actor who's mostly in westerns and is out in a dramatic role where the director finds out he can't act. It makes for one of the funniest scenes in the movie. But the real standout is Josh Brolin. This is probably Brolin's best role since No Country for Old Men. His character has so many subtleties that make you want to know more about this guy. He has a great scene with a Priest and a Rabbi about the depiction of Jesus in the film that was honestly the best part of the movie.
If I had to say any problems with 'Hail, Caesar!' it could be the ending. I personally liked the ending a lot but I could understand why some people could be turned off by it. It's a lot like other Coen Bros. movies where it ends very abruptly but they do it in a way that's almost genius. I've heard some people complain about some tone shifts but I think it was one tone throughout and it did its job spectacularly with that. It felt like the 50s and had great commentary on filmmaking back then and filmmaking now.
While most people will go and see a weird attempt at quirkiness from the Coen Bros. others will see the genius that is 'Hail, Caesar!' It's a hilarious look at Hollywood and the film industry that will surely entertain.