The film is laden with the customary Coen quirkiness and loaded with familiar faces, but the formula doesn't come together as smoothly as it has in previous Coen outings. With seemingly every law-enforcement official on their trail, the boys take time out to record an impromptu bluegrass number that becomes a statewide sensation.
Cohesion is the pitfall here.
The looseness so marvelously prevalent at the outset must tighten for the story to reach its conclusion. Then again, the character isn't exactly rendered in warm terms. Chris Thomas King plays a guitarist named Tommy Johnson, who claims to have sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for worldly success. Lee Weaver also has some great lines as the blind seer who encounters Ulysses early in his odyssey. Use of this Web site is subject to certain Terms and Conditions .