The Brothers Grim: The Films of Ethan and Joel Coen
...well written and engaging. (American Reference Books Annual, March 2008)Rowell (a journalist and film producer) titles each chapter examining a film from the prolific duo Joel and Ethan Coen (known as the Coen Brothers) after an object that figures so prominently in the movie that it is almost a character. In "Blood Simple: A Photo," "The Big Lebowski: A Bowling Ball" and the other essays, she offers a synopsis, review, and dissection of the themes, technique, influences, and stark social commentary of the often violent and satirical and always stylized Coen films. The writing-directing brothers also createdRaising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?andIntolerable Cruelty.(Reference and Research Book News, August 2007)Rowell examines [the Coen brothers] with greater concentration than the typical scattershot making-of or makers-of commentary, and even announces something like an analytical framework to apply to the films. (Film International)