Raising Shifting Realities

Rating: 8/10 (12 December 2019)

The Coen brothers rank very highly in my movie world. They're smart as hell, and have a great camera eye. But what they do best is run wild with cinematic narratives.
Here we have Bridges as a stoner, Goodman doing a John Milius impersonation, Buscemi as himself referencing Fargo, and Julianne Moore poking fun at almost every pretentious actress in Hollywood (demonstrating 3 levels of abstraction here: Herself, herself as an actress, and her character "performing" in the world of the movie as an abstract artist). Her finishing school accent is hilarious. We even have Sam Elliot as a cowboy Greek chorus.
The story is, there is no story, because it's Chandler-esque, but also the drug use supports the shifting realities. It's a screwball character piece and the real joy is watching the performers perform.