Black and White Surprises & Morrison's Superman

Last night our Coen bros. chronological film festival continued with "The Man who Wasn't There". I had only seen the movie once when it had been released on dvd back in 2001-2002, so I was prepared to either be pleasantly surprised or abysmally confounded. In viewing the films in the manner in which we have (chronologically), I have noticed a pattern these artists have of going up and down from film to film with the creative and narrative content of these films, really seeming to follow sensibilities that do tie closely to some aspects of genre but ultimately end in being a hit or miss by choice, not by meddling from others.

So keeping that in mind, I was ready for either awe or disappointment. Which Coen bros. film would show up? Or would it be something completely different? Well, this film is something completely different while maintaining certain narrative trappings that help them to construct these stories. Do we have a shmuck or shmoe who is potentially a patsy but yet is a protagonist? Check. Do we have a everyday, regular life context to spill into the fantastic, giving us a sense of that when life gets shaken up out of our routines that strange shit happens? Check. Is there bribery or reward involved. And check again. So everything is in place- The Schmuck living a regular life who gets involved too deep. Classic.

While this formula continues to work for the Coens, for this film they put a spin on it. By tinkering with the ideas of pop philosophy and psychology centering around the idea of existence (some would say existentialism, some would argue for the gestalt debate) of the post WWII era that began in Barton Fink, the Coens hit stride with the idea that to be an independent thinker is to be alone. While Barton Fink is a one trick pony of a writer who has used up his one idea, Crane the Barber (played by a tremendous Billy Bob Thornton) has been introspectively keeping to himself his whole life, watching and listening to the world. When we meet him, it seems as if it is the right time to move on his impulses that he has forsaken his whole life. These impulses ( taking a chance on opportunity, righting wrongs, etc.) initially seem to betray him when he tries to blackmail his wifes boss/lover and is put in a precarious spot. But even with the mistake of what happen (I'm not into spoilers, sorry) he does try to correct it on a karmic level constantly. But the rest of the world does not seem to understand, and even Crane the Barber seems to struggle with it as well.

"The Man Who Wasn't There" is also a cinematographic black and white wonder. I watched the film in HD via streaming and the picture quality was absolutely breathtaking. Roger Deakins scores for the brothers time and time again as director of photography (having come on board for Barton Fink), and this could very well be considered on level with the wide lens Kubrick-esqe flurishes of his heist film "The Killing". This film demands a re-watch simply to just soak in the lighting and atmosphere that are created. It is also of note that this film continues the Coens playing with film making in technical ways that began with "The Big Lebowski", e.g. how the camera moves, framing, subtle digital effects and of course lighting. Each film since Lebowski up to this point have had little tweeks in those areas. With this, the 9th film of the canon, the Coens are still taking chances, and it is very much worth the ride. Feel free to watch the film and tweet me about it @jldprod2002 or just comment here at the blog.

In a previous post this week I talked about the DC comics re-boot and my reactions to it. Yesterday, DC revealed the final four new titles centering around Superman. The biggest of those announcements was that comic scribe superstar Grant Morrison, whom many consider to have already written one of the greatest Superman stories ever (All-Star Superman), and has kept the Batman franchise vital in the last decade, would be writing for the grand daddy original flagship- Action Comics #1. This announcement puts fanboys and girls in the precarious position of having a very large question finally answered- Can Morrison work magic on someone like Superman like he has on Batman? All-Star allowed Morrison to work outside of continuity to create a unique and loving space, but here he will be presented with a launching that we will for now assume have continuity placed upon it.

Action Comics #1(probably not final art)

But lets pause here for a moment. The previous statement about continuity is an assumption, and one of many this week not only by me but by others. What if DC is not that concerned with continuity any more? What if this is the beginning of some really great isolated stories that many fans have called for over the years after suffering supposed "event fatigue" and convoluted re-boots? This is the most interesting thing about what DC is doing--we have no idea how this is going to roll. And to this comics fan, that is a very exciting prospect.

So will Morrison work on Superman? It will take three to four issues, but by the end of the year we shall see.

Next week, we have a double feature planned for the Coen- fest 2011 with "Intolerable Cruelty" and "The LadyKillers", two films that are sure to be perplexing and polarizing. I will tweet the times for these films on Friday and Saturday, and should have commentary on the blog on Sunday barring injury.