The Coens strike again!

Rating: 10/10 (30 August 2007)

The opening scene of The Big Lebowski follows the journey of a tumbleweed blowing in the wind. It makes its way from the desert into the city of Los Angeles. It keeps on going until its final resting place at a beach. All accompanied to the sound of Tumbling Tumbleweeds on the soundtrack. The point the film is trying to make is that in every city in the world, there is one person who is like a tumbleweed. Someone subject to the whims of fate. And in this film, that person is Jeff Lebowski.
First off, don't call him Jeff or Lebowski. He's The Dude. A throwback to the stoned 60s that found his way into the stone cold 90s. He doesn't really do anything except for observing the world through a drug addled haze. And on the side he goes bowling with two very odd teammates, Walter and Donny (John Goodman & Steve Buscemi).
The Dude's unfulfilled (yet untroubled) life as a slacker takes a detour one night when two heavies break into his house and want money. It turns out these two have mistaken The Dude for the Big Lebowski, a multi-millionaire. They inflict some further harm on The Dude by peeing on his beloved rug ("it really tied the room together").
The Dude goes to see the Big Lebowski to get compensation. To no luck. But on his way out, he helps himself to a rug, and meets Bunny Lebowski (Tara Reid), the Big Fella's wife. It isn't long before The Dude is up to his goatee in trouble when he gets dragged into a kidnapping plot involving Bunny, that sets off a chain reaction of buggered up drop-offs, Walter's unhelpful help, stolen cars, ransom money, and erotic wet dreams.
The Coen Brothers followed up their superb kidnapping caper Fargo with this equally superb slice of Coen kookiness. And again they've crafted a tale around a kidnapping. But that doesn't seem quite as important this time around. Its just a convenient hook to hang a lot of wackiness on.
No-one could ever accuse the Coens of being normal. There's always something a little off the beaten track about their films. But that's the reason why I love them so much. At least the Coens are consistent, and they're always trying out new layers of bizarreness that are frequently dazzling.
The Big Lebowski has the Coens at their most sadistic. They do seem to enjoy putting the thumbscrews on their characters, and every different plot point is an opportunity to tighten them even further. And Jeff Bridges is the unfortunate soul at the centre of it. He is the man at the mercy of their masterful direction. As he goes through one tough and tortuous situation after another.
The Big Lebowski is a wonderful cascade of dire events. Much like Fargo, the scenes interlock with each other, so tiny details can come back and bite you in the arse. The plot is quite sleek and even multi-dimensional. But the Coens are far more interested in dreaming up new and wackier ways to torment the poor Dude. As well as the sublimely inspired gallery of freaks, misfits and wackos they've surrounded him with.
Coen regulars John Goodman and Steve Buscemi are back on hand as The Dude's bowling buddies. Goodman's Walter is one of his most eccentric persona's. A shell-shocked Vietnam vet, the man walks a fine line between passive restraint and fiery insanity. Its a role that suits John Goodman down to a tee. And the best part is, its not a caricature he's playing. There is a real man behind the nuttiness. He's a man who's seen more pain in life than anyone should have to. It's that key that makes Walter the most complete of any character Goodman has played in a Coen film.
As for Steve Buscemi's Donny, he's a man of few words. But that's because he's never allowed to complete a sentence, since Walter is always telling him to "shut the f##k up!". We never learn much about Donny. Just that he always bowls a perfect strike. In Fargo, he died, and does so again here. As much a mystery in death as he was in life. Something morbidly amusing is that lately, whenever Buscemi is cast in a Coen film, he always winds up in little bits by the end.
Jeff Bridges is perfectly suited to The Dude. A stoned, strung out loser who glibly coasts by on the chaotic shifts in his life. And his drug induced dream sequences are so far out they're from another galaxy. Wait until you see the one about the Busby Berkeley Viking Bowling dance number, entitled GutterBall. Its a hoot out of hell!
When I first saw the Big Lebowski, I was surprised that the ending seems to lose the plot 20 minutes before the credits roll. But then I started thinking about something the narrator of the film (played by Sam Elliott) said at the start. How he lost his train of thought while telling the story. And that's exactly what happens in the film itself. Its a bold move, but its something only the Coen Brothers could get away with. And they do.
The Big Lebowski is definitely the Coens in trippy mode. But its a work of inspired genius. And again affirms why the Coen Brothers are so superb at everything they put their minds to.