Another pleasant surprise from the Coen Brothers

Rating: 7/10 (14 February 2016)

Joel and Ethan Coen, the geniuses behind 'Fargo', 'The Big Lebowski', O Brother Where Are Thou' and 'No Country for Old Men, are back once again, and have delivered splendid surprise with this period set comedy-drama starring an exhilarating cast of some of the biggest actors to shine in Hollywood today. This film set in the 1950s, places Josh Brolin in the role of Eddie Mannix, a Hollywood studio executive of a company known as "Capitol Pictures", a studio company filming their new motion picture titled "Hail Caeser" which stars a hotshot actor Baird Whitlock (played by George Clooney) as a messiah warrior in a biblical story set in Ancient Rome. However, when Whitlock is drugged and mysteriously abducted, Eddie must get his head in the game and keep the actors and staff workers of the industry in line, including a attractive swimmer DeeAnna Moran who becomes pregnant during production (played by Scarlett Johansson), a singing cowboy Hobie Doyle (played by Alden Ehrenreich) who must deal with an ill-tempered film director (played by Ralph Fiennes), and a sailor-suited dancer Burt Gurney (played by Channing Tatum). Jonah Hill makes an appearance as the financial agent.
This film is filled with almost everything you can expect from a movie directed by the Coen Brothers: engaging characters, stellar performances, and a solid screenplay. This film is both funny and energetic at various points, with its story set in the Hollywood industry during the post-World War II era. Joel and Ethan Coen make great use with the story with the idea poking fun at Hollywood with clever social commentary and diving into the hypocrisy and corruption that goes on behind the camera. While the story does have some flaws in terms of consistency with its overflowing subplots thrown at every turn, it moves considerably well. Throughout the run time, we are treated with some of most masterful scenes including an stylish musical number by Channing Tatum who demonstrates an impressive dance routine, Scarlett Johansson performing a musical opera with her exotic swim skills, and a powerful cinematic-fueled monologue by George Clooney's character. Then the story dips into the scandalous behavior including communism which was a major threat to Hollywood back in the 50s, committed by the stars and crew members and the dishonesty that drives the production into trouble. These scenes paint such a dazzling picture at the Hollywood environment in the 1950s. And with the colorful production design that gives the scenes a moody and eye-popping 50s-style look really stands as a work of art.
With such a stellar cast, incredible performances are what many can only ask for. Josh Brolin gives stunning performance as the main character who must deal with the atrocities that go on when their production goes to utter hell. George Clooney shines bright in his role as the actor starring in a historical motion picture that pays a good homage to 1959 classic 'Ben-Hur', and the monologues his character delivers in the filming scenes are quite entertaining to watch. Channing Tatum is also quite impressive in his role, playing a Gene Kelly-like character and performing a catchy tap dance on the counter and tables at a bar, while delivering a shocking singing voice. Scarlett Johansson and Ralph Fiennes are both good, but is sadly underused for the most of the time. Serving even less screen time is Jonah Hill as the financial agent of the company. The fact that the his character has very little screen time is quite a shame as he gives a credible acting for his time on-screen. Alden Ehrenreich is probably one of the best actors here, playing a cowboy with an archetype of Kirby Giant.
Hail, Ceaser! is a great work of art by the Coen Brothers and an inspiring take on the satire of Hollywood. This is film sparkled with tremendous performances, a great screenplay, dazzling characters, and let's not forget the profound cinematography by Roger Deakins. Maybe not the best of their works, but it still deserves our attention. Hail, Ceaser is a movie every Coen Brothers should see.