Joel and Ethan Coen have made a variety of movies with some being much better than others. I haven't liked all of them, but I am usually willing to give their movies a chance. I recently had the chance to see Burn After Reading, their first movie since No Country for Old Men.

When CIA agent Osborne Cox was told he was basically being demoted because he had a drinking problem he wasn't happy. He decided to quit and write a tell all book about his years with the agency instead. Osborne's decision really upset his wife Katie who was already having an affair with Harry Pfarrer. Katie decided it was time for her to start divorce proceedings even though Harry tried to discourage her while also saying it was time he did the same with his wife.

A CD was discovered at a gym and ended up in the hands of Linda Litzke and Chad, two of the gym's employees. They believed that they had discovered government secrets and started plotting how to use the information to their benefit. Linda was single and dating a lot and wanted several plastic surgery procedures that she believed she needed in order to find a man but she couldn't afford them or get her insurance to cover them. She saw the information as a way to get the money she needed for the surgeries and Chad just seemed to go along with the plan because he thought it was fun. Things got more complicated when Harry and Linda started a relationship through a computer dating company even though he was still seeing Katie. Linda and Chad pushed forward with their plan despite not fully understanding what they were dealing with and things spiraled out of control.

The Coen brothers have become known for their quirky, odd, or even twisted movies. Burn After Reading fit that perfectly and while I thought it was entertaining overall, it isn't a movie that will appeal to everyone. The plot was a bit complex and even convoluted at times, so certain things didn't make the most sense at first and a few scenes did seem rather pointless. As the movie progressed and more things happened, the few things that didn't make sense at first did end up making sense. People do need to pay attention to keep track of all the sub plots so that everything makes sense. It did stretch believability a bit to have everything that was happening to be so connected, but it still worked for the most part.

After making the very dark and serious No Country for Old Men, the Coen Brothers returned to comedy for Burn After Reading. The humor as well as the plot in general was still a bit dark, but it was much lighter overall than their last movie. The characters ended up in situations that were just so bizarre that they were funny. I thought it had a decent amount of humor even though it wasn't as funny as I had thought it would be based on the trailers. Chad was basically a goofy air head and he tended to add humor to his scenes. Just his hairstyle was funny. The humor was quirky and twisted, so it isn't something that is going to appeal to everyone.

There was a small amount of action in Burn After Reading in a few scenes, so it wasn't an action packed movie. It started off with a slower pace at first while everything was set up and the characters were introduced. The slower start might bother some viewers. I wasn't bothered or bored by it. I was kept guessing by how things were going to work out and I felt there were good surprises throughout the movie that kept it from being predictable. There was a bit of mystery connected to everything that was going on and there was some suspense that worked in a few scenes as well.

A few scenes did contain some graphic violence that was disturbing and will more than likely turn off some people. This movie wasn't as violent as some of the other movies that the Coen brothers have made, but there were a few things that were extremely violent. This is not a movie for children of any age to see and it deserved the R rating it received. Several of the characters used profanity, including multiple uses of the word that rhymes with luck.

While there weren't any actual sex scenes in Burn After Reading, there were sex related things in some scenes. Harry was married and having an affair with Katie, who was also married. Evidently that wasn't enough for Harry as he was also meeting other women through an online dating service and sleeping with them whenever he could. That was how he ended up involved with Linda. He did seem to enjoy some wild or unique things related to sex which could offend some viewers, including one or two things that could be considered vulgar. It was made very clear that certain characters were having sex even though that wasn't actually shown.

There were several characters that turned up throughout Burn After Reading, with some of them being more important than others. Harry seemed to only be interested in having sex with as many women as he could. It was said at one point that he was a U.S. Marshall and other times it was said that he worked for the treasury department. I'm not sure why there was the discrepancy in his job. He did seem to get increasingly more stressed and paranoid as things progressed. Harry was basically an idiot. I did think that George Clooney handled the part well. Harry's wife Sandy was only in a few scenes, so she didn't have much to do.

Osborne Cox had been in the CIA for many years and had a fairly high clearance level before it was decided that he had a drinking problem that could compromise security. He wasn't interested in a demotion, so he decided to quit and write a book. He wasn't dealing well with not working or some other developments in his life. John Malkovich was great in the part. Katie was not nice and was very pushy and demanding with Osborne and Harry. She seemed to be cold and calculating, so she really wasn't a likable character. Tilda Swinton handled the part well.

Linda was single and was feeling like she was never going to find the right man. She decided that she needed several cosmetic surgeries to be able to find a man. She was getting desperate since she couldn't afford the surgeries and her insurance wouldn't pay for them. Once Linda decided that using the information found at the gym was a good idea, she jumped into planning and pushed Chad into taking it further than they initially planned. Linda wasn't really stupid, but she wasn't that bright either. She was likable for the most part. Francis McDormand was good in the part and made a believable character.

Chad worked with Linda. He was goofy and definitely not the brightest crayon in the box. He was obsessed with fitness. The character was a bit over the top, but I did think Brad Pitt handled it well. Ted was Linda and Chad's boss. Ted knew that they were plotting to do something with the information that was found in the gym, and he wanted no part of it. He was clearly interested in Linda though she never noticed him as anything other than her boss. Richard Jenkins didn't have that much to do since Ted was only in a few scenes. One or two other gym employees were briefly shown. David Rasche and J.K. Simmons were in a few short scenes as two unnamed CIA agents.

Main Cast

George Clooney - Harry
Richard Jenkins - Ted
Francis McDormand - Linda
John Malkovich - Osborne Cox
Brad Pitt - Chad
Tilda Swinton - Katie Cox

Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Burn After Reading wasn't exactly what I thought it would be, but I still thought it was entertaining overall. Fans of the cast or the Coen brothers may like the movie, but it isn't going to appeal to many people.

This review is part of CaptainD's 2008 Good Movie Write Off.

George Clooney Movie Reviews
Batman & Robin ~ Intolerable Cruelty ~ Leatherheads ~ Michael Clayton ~ Ocean's Eleven ~ Ocean's Twelve ~ Ocean's Thirteen ~

Recommended: Yes