By far the warmest and most appealing of the Coen Brothers films, O Brother Where Art Thou is a quintessentially American film. A series of lovely vignettes are full of comic moments, yet go deeper to capture the making of Modern America. The film is beautifully photographed and lit, the hard-edge ambience of the era permeates a landscape in which innocence and cynicism fight for primacy, resulting in a draw. The music is gorgeous, the references to the Odyssey arch and humorous (Penelope with a brood of daughters, pursued by an oily pol who would replace her own flawed Ulysses, is an indelible image). And George Clooney's brave, self-mocking performance is matched at every turn by an exemplary cast. This is John Turturro's best "everyman" performance since Quiz Show, and there is an air of unsentimental nostalgia about the whole enterprise that is peculiarly sweet and affecting.
Review of O Brother, Where Art Thou?
