The Big Lebowski review

Rating: 9/10 (27 July 2016)

The main story of this film opens up with Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) having his rug urinated on. The cause of this unfortunate event was a mix-up by the thugs, as "The Dude" Jeff Lebowski shares a name with a millionaire Jeff Lebowski (David Huddleston). This prompts The Dude to go over to The Big Lebowski and demand compensation for the rug. This leads to The Big Lebowski having The Dude be his courier to deliver ransom money when his wife gets kidnapped. The ransom drop goes awry when Walter (John Goodman) gets involved, which lead to the whole somewhat convoluted chain of events in the rest of the film.
One of the major themes of the film is The Dude pacifism. What makes the film interesting is that while he is a pacifist, he spends the majority of the film being angry. However, you can always see his laid-back peaceful personality underneath everything. When the thugs broke into his apartment in the beginning of the movie, one of them water boarded him in his own toilet. However, when he talks about it with Walter the next day, he does not even mention being water boarded. He's just upset about the loss of his rug.
We also see this later in the film, when his second rug is stolen. When he meets Maude (Julianne Moore), who was the person who stole the rug, they have a long conversation, with the rug being mentioned several times. At the end of the conversation, Maude apologizes for having him punched in the jaw. He replies, "Oh, that's fine. That doesn't even..." When she insists he see the doctor, he says, "That's thoughtful but..." He doesn't care about being beaten, he just wants a rug.
The editing and camera angles in the film are simple and direct. With few exceptions, there are no real fancy editing effects or transitions. The only time there are any fancy effects in the film are in dream sequences. Additionally, the colors of the film, especially The Dude's clothes, are simple and muted. This represents The Dude's simple, laid-back attitude on life.
Overall, The Big Lebowski is a great film. The characters in the movie all have their own personality and backstory, and that makes the whole film feel alive. The dialog is engaging, especially with everyone's personality being in contrast with The Dude's. After seeing it for the first time, this is already one of my favorite films.