Flip A Coin

Rating: 6/10 (13 December 2007)

I am a fan of the Coen Brothers(Raising Arizona, Fargo, Barton Fink, Big Lebowski and Blood Simple) and yet I have also sat through films of theirs that just didn't work -- even with entertaining moments -- (Hudsucker Proxy, Miller's Crossing, O' Brother, etc.) - so I went in thinking I was just going to love this new one - especially with all the rave reviews in the press and I was with it - really enjoying it - until the shootout in the El Paso Motel room - from that moment on I felt the movie was off the rails and in the ravine. The acting is excellent - the cinematography is brilliant, but overall - I was disappointed with the final act. I understand the Coens were very faithful to the book (which is to be commended yet there are times one has to realize you are visually telling a story) but maybe they were TOO faithful. I'm not one of these viewers who needs things explained or wants everything tied up in a ribbon - but to invest so much time in Brolin's character and then not even SEE his demise - well that just ticked me off. And I also felt that once Brolin found the money (which is a good plot point for dozens and dozens of crime films) the movie just kind off moved from one bit to another - some of them amazing but some of them bland and one-note. The scene with Bardem messing with the old timer who runs the gas station is one of the best, most tension-filled scenes I have ever watched - brilliantly acted, written and edited. Bardem (who is so damn good in Night Must Fall), Brolin and the rest of the cast are terrific - I loved Tommy Lee Jones' opening narration but I must be in the minority in not liking his little speech about his dreams at the end. I think it's a good film, a flawed film but not a great film.