The measured, perfect notes of a Beethoven sonata, played with skill yet lacking in passion, is not only the soundtrack of the recent homage to noir by the Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan Coen) it’s one of the overarching themes of The Man Who Wasn’t There. Ed Crane, a post-WWII everyman, who marks times by smoking cigarettes, and keeping his thoughts to himself, is a second-chair Barber in his brother-in-law’s barber shop. He has mastered the skill of cutting hair, yet he never really engages with his customers or those he works with. He has no real passion or calling, he just works there.

Ed believes that his wife Doris, ably played by Coen regular and spouse Frances McDormand, is having an affair with her boss Big Dave Brewster, a loud, passionate, crude man (played to type by James Gandolfini), he is fairly resigned to the idea. Doris is bookkeeper for Nirdlinger’s, a department store owned by Big Dave’s wife’s family. Doris works for her discount so that she can buy makeup, clothes and lingerie. Big Dave married into his job and serves at the pleasure of the ownership and longs to break out on his own.

Big Dave isn’t the only one unhappy with his work. When the opportunity to leave the barber trade presents itself to Ed in the form of entrepreneur Creighton Tolliver (Jon Polito) and the next big thing, dry cleaning, Ed concocts a plan to change his life and also even the score with his wife.

Reading like the pages of a men’s magazine, Ed Crane gingerly travels through life, trying to make as little noise as possible. The only peace he really seems to find is when listening to young Birdy Abundas (Scarlett Johansson) play the piano. He doesn’t talk much, yet his voice-over narrative is the core of the story. The narrative, the black-and-white film, the time period, the bigotry, and the mood (including alcohol and cigarettes) firmly plant this film in film-noir territory.

Although intriguing, like a technically brilliant yet cold Citizen Kane, you can watch The Man Who Wasn’t There for its filmmaking and technique, but yet never really immerse yourself in such a cold, distant, yet all-too familiar world. Like Ed, it stays analytical and detached, never really embracing life nor finding any real substance. Like a man who isn’t there.


Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older