The Man Who Wasn't There

...So, has anyone seen it yet? What did you all think of the film?...

...I watched it yesterday... To me, the film is nothing short of fantastic... The entire atmosphere is thick with this pervasive sense of dread... It captures the struggle of an ordinary man trying to carve out a life, attempting to escape his own stagnation... and his utter insignificance... Once he learns the truth about Big Dave's murder, he emerges from the situation—in his own words—as if he is standing above it all... I felt a constant sense of "floating" throughout the experience... My compliments to the Coens for masterfully crafting such a brilliant atmosphere...

...He was destined to be a mere pawn... Because even though he wasn't a suspect in Big Dave's murder (despite admitting he killed him, though the authorities didn't see it that way... and still, there is that theme of insignificance and the inability to control one's own fate), he ended up being charged with a different murder entirely, something he had no part in... The circle was closed...

...Full credit to B. B. Thornton... Through pure minimalism, he portrayed all that sorrow, anxiety, and discontent... I found myself completely immersed in his character...

...What were your impressions? If you haven't seen it, go watch it immediately...

Regards...🙂

Absolute masterpiece. Honestly, this might be the best thing the Coen brothers have ever put out. Everything about it just hits perfectly: the script, the direction... and the cinematography? Absolutely brilliant!!!!
Plus, the way they play around with those film noir tropes is top-tier—even better than in L.A. Confidential.
Do yourself a favor and watch it. 🙂

Did you guys catch Billy Bob playing Brice? Man, those little twitchy movements he makes with the scissors while he's smoking like some old cowboy, just staring at that kid's bald spot... I was sitting there quietly cracking up at those scenes...
Yeah, he didn't need a bunch of extra stuff to show all that sadness and anxiety... honestly, the minimalism is baked right into the character—it's the minimalism of decay, of just being totally meaningless...
The whole movie gave me Camus vibes, specifically Meursault. It’s the same deal there, because Ed is also a total outsider. Even though everyone knows him, even though he's defined entirely by his job, he's just Brice and nothing else. Yeah, there's no way he's some cold-blooded killer; he's just Brice, an ordinary guy, just a regular modern man as the lawyer would put it
All in all, a total genius film👍

Around the 2/3 mark, the movie was actually super tense and engaging, but then it felt like they lost their way a bit. On another note, Thornton totally nails that "barber" line!

For me, the runtime felt at least 20 or 30 minutes too long. It starts to lose its momentum toward the end, especially once that classic Coen existentialism kicks in. Honestly, I think the brothers handled that vibe much more effectively in "Fargo."

I don't know, this movie was just okay for me. I walked away with the exact same feeling I had after watching Burton's Planet of the Apes; it felt like the directors were constantly holding back, refusing to fully lean into their own creative madness.

Both films felt somewhat stifled to me, and honestly, I think the rest of the Coen brothers' filmography is much stronger; they seemed to pour way too much energy into crafting a specific visual style and ended up running out of steam when it came to actually playing with the narrative. In a way, Burton and the Coens really did themselves a disservice with these projects; they missed the very things that make us fall in love with their work—that unmistakable sense of a whimsical world, the striking visuals, and that wild, uninhibited storytelling...

Did anyone catch Billy Bob playing Brice? Those jerky little scissor movements while he smokes like some cowboy staring at a kid's bald spot... those scenes actually got a quiet laugh out of me.

....I chuckled too....but you want to know which part actually made me laugh out loud, genuinely?....It's when he brings that drunk woman home, recounts how they met, and claims she proposed marriage after just two weeks... right then, the phone rings—it's Big Dave.... Ed heads to the store, kills Dave, comes back, sits on the bed, and just continues: After two weeks she proposed marriage 😁 😁 😁

It gets a bit diluted toward the end once that typical Coen existentialism kicks in. The brothers handled things much more tightly in "Fargo".

I disagree; the film feels quite compact to me, certainly not overlong....and since we are talking about "Fargo"....call it sacrilege if you must 😁 , but I find this film superior to "Fargo"

I don't know, I actually found the movie to be quite compact... it didn't feel long-winded at all. And since we’re already talking about Fargo... maybe it just qualifies as a cinematic holy grail. 😁 Honestly, I don't know how to put this without sounding completely crazy, but... I think I actually liked this movie more than Fargo.

I have to be honest—when I first sat down to watch Fargo, it just didn't quite click for me. It was one of those movies that felt a little off, like I was missing the rhythm. But then, a few years later, I happened to catch it on TV, and suddenly everything shifted. I ended up absolutely loving every single second of it. It was one of those rare moments where I finally "got it," if you know what I mean.

With *The Man Who Wasn't There*, I can't help but feel like the Coen brothers were playing around a bit too much with genre tropes and cinematic conventions instead of just letting the story breathe. I’ve actually sat through this one three times now—twice while visiting Napa Valley and once during its standard theatrical run—so I’ve definitely given myself enough time to sit with my thoughts, but that same nagging feeling just keeps coming back to me every single time.
Don't get me wrong now, I still honestly think the movie is quite good.

The Man Who Wasn't There—yeah, the vibe was spot on and B. B. T. delivered a solid performance, which honestly reminds me a bit of Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca😁. It was definitely worth the watch.
But for me, O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the one that really sticks
.
I found myself constantly humming along to the Soggy Bottom Boys...
Both movies are 👍

Everything is solid. I’ve always been a fan of theirs, though maybe things dragged a bit toward the end.

Aside from that, the whole thing is so absurd that it actually follows a perfectly logical progression.

Roger Deakins is a god👍
Does anyone else remember "Barton Fink"?..that movie really wrecked me, and Deakins was just
the one who started working with the brothers as a cinematographer after that film...

Not many people around here saw "Barton Fink" because it's kind of hard to wrap your head around...but I'd highly recommend it😎

Anyway, do you guys prefer their movies like "Arizona Rising", "Big L."
"O Brother, Where Art Thou?"..or stuff like "Blood Simple", "Miller's Crossing", "Barton Fink",
"Fargo", or "The Man Who Wasn't There"?

The Coen brothers are Kool

🙏

I don't usually borrow VHS tapes, but when I saw there were two tapes in the box, I had to borrow them...
I grabbed one and popped it in...
The movie is phenomenal. First off, it’s in black and white. That caught me completely off guard, but honestly, the monochrome look perfectly captures the atmosphere. By the way, the film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography (though I can't recall if it actually won).
Billy Bob was incredible—the guy is pure phlegmatic energy. His performance was so spot on that watching him actually made me want to light up a cigarette myself. 🙂As for the >... well, Gandolfini is always a powerhouse, but he dies pretty early on, so his screen time is limited. I don't know about you guys, but I find it hard to picture him playing anyone other than Tony, though I did manage to pull it off for this specific role. The rest of the cast is right in line with the quality of the film, meaning they were all very good...
There is no happy ending (which I personally prefer), and it carries the darkest atmosphere I've experienced in a while. The mood of this film really stuck with me...
I finished the first tape and initially thought the movie was just too long for one disc, or maybe the second tape held bonus features. But when I popped the second one in—surprise—it was the exact same movie, just in color...
Now I'm actually glad I accidentally started with the black-and-white version...
Has anyone else seen this? Any thoughts?

You already started a thread about this movie a little further down the page😉 , and a mod can just merge it into this poll

I only caught the black and white version... honestly, I don't think the color one hits quite the same way

The movie is great, but you shouldn't take it as an absolute masterpiece. It’s true that B. B. Thornton fits the role, but I wouldn't say I'm fascinated by him. He seems to play the same guy in every single movie—cold, quiet... (Actually, now I can only recall that one movie he was in with Halle Berry, what was it called again?). His acting range reminds me a bit too much of Richard Gere, and I don't mean that as a compliment.

And that whole mess with smoking in the car. It feels like Americans are totally obsessed with smoking; they just have to throw in some weird oral fixation in every film—just look at "confession of a dangerous mind".

The plot is solid, and you can tell the film was crafted by professionals.

Yes, there's a thread right below this one...😉 🙂 ...it would be efficient if the moderator could just merge my previous topic into this poll; I think that's the best way forward...

.....I've only watched the black-and-white version...and frankly, I believe it is significantly superior....

I even went ahead and searched for 😕
Bravo to me!
👋

I haven't even touched a color DVD!

That color version is absolute sacrilege. I have no idea why anyone thought it was a good idea to add color to what the Coens originally intended to be black and white. The film is a total masterpiece.

He plays the exact same character in every single movie—cold, brooding... (actually, now I can only recall that one film he did with Halle Berry, what was it called again?)

Monster's Ball... I haven't seen it... though, I suppose even in Bandit, he isn't playing his typical archetype.

His acting range reminds me somewhat of Richard Gere, and I don't mean that as a compliment.

Well, alright, I wouldn't necessarily say he's like Gere... but that comparison certainly isn't a compliment.😁 😁 ...even if we were to agree that his roles lack variety, nothing can quite surpass the sheer sleaziness of Richard Gere... at least this guy is interesting to watch.

binguli said:That color version is sacrilege. I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to dye what the Coens intended to be black and white. The film is a masterpiece.

The movie was actually conceived in color first; they just decided on a black-and-white release later on.

I’m with Vialliev's first post on this one.

Aside from that "Mr. Crane, I wanna help! Mr. Crane!" bit in the car, these scenes stick in my mind:
- Big Dave's wife shows up at Crane's door with those hollow, terrifying eyes while the wind shakes the branches in the background—talk about UNSETTLING 😁
- Crane shaving a woman's leg in the tub, then at the end, they shave him right before they turn the power on.
- That fat handyman, Crane's brother-in-law, starts spouting absolute nonsense when his sister is late for her trial.

I only ever managed to get one tape, and I was looking for the B&W version. Guess I'm just out of luck...

Love the Coen brothers. 👏