Burn After Reading
Review
by Sean Lynch
There is very little anyone can do about not
enjoying a George Clooney or Brad Pitt movie. Those two could
stand in front of a white wall for three hours, and somehow people
would still applaud it.
Why?
The simple fact is that
Clooney and Pitt are the two most charismatic and likeable
personalities to hit our screens since Cary Grant won the world over
in just about everything he put his name too back in the previous
millenium.
There is no real logical explanation, there is just
a chemical reaction that occurs in the brain of every man, woman and
child that is gauranteed to put a grin on you're face every time they
look your way.
So when sometop notch directors give them both
the chance to play up to the audience, move around and exist in roles
outside of their normal reportoire... the result is unbrideled (totally
hetro-sexual ... ) cinematic joy.
In the first outing from the Coen Brothers since their No Country For Old Men
Oscars triumph (and based on yet another book, this time it's former CIA
director Stansfield Turner's 2005 non-fiction tome Burn Before Reading: Presidents, CIA Directors, and Secret Intelligence)
John Malcovich plays an out-of-work CIA agent who decides to pen a
scathing tell all book about his experiences behind the scenes of the
USA.
Thing is, the disc goes missing - it falls into the hands of some brainless gym employees (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand) who
think they have got their hands on some "CIA Shit... like...
Intelligent... Shit" who try to use it to garner some ransom money.
Things get out of control - and soon the "intelligent CIA Shit" hits
the fan.
It's a clever little piece
which never quite makes complete sense (there are a lot of loose ends,
flimsy connections, while the quick fix ending is both inspired... and
kind of lazy).
The cast really make Burn After Reading
a truly worthwhile cinematic affair. McDormand is excellent as the
"brains behind the black mail" who is trying to raise cash for
"important elective surgeries", Pitt seems to be having the time of his
life as an over enthusiastic gym buff, Malkovich
is eerily excellent (I'm still amazed the man was never considered for
The Joker... perhaps he'll get the nod for Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns),
while Clooney finally snaps out of "Cool Crooner" mode and gives a
hilarious performance as a paranoid adulterer prone to "anaphalactic
shock" with pretty much any food.
If you were a fan of Intolerable Cruelty,
then expect to leave with a smile on your face here. Despite it's
various flaws - this is a truly enjoyable film that offers plenty of
laughs and substance... while never quite bowing to the pressure of
living up to the critical success that one might feel after the
significantly darker No Country.
Well worth checking out, if only to see Clooney and Pitt in full flight.
4 out
of 5
Burn After Reading
Australian release: 16th October,
2008
Official
Site: Burn After Reading
Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand
Director: Joel and Ethan Coen
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