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The Man Who Wasn't There [VHS] [2001]
 
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The Man Who Wasn't There [VHS] [2001]

VHS ~ Billy Bob Thornton
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
With The Man Who Wasn't There the Coen brothers--those ironic geniuses of left-field bizarre--have pulled off another side-swerve into the unexpected. A movie "about a hairdresser who wants to become a dry-cleaner" as the brothers gleefully claim to have pitched it, it's set in 1949 in the small Northern California town of Santa Rosa (venue for Hitchcock's 1943 classic Shadow of a Doubt) and filmed in lustrous, deep-shadowy black-and-white--an affectionate, though never slavish, tribute to the great era of film noir.

Not only in its austere monochrome but in its tone, it comes as a total contrast to the Coens' previous film, the cheerfully picaresque O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Though they toss in plenty of surreal gags, including a whole running thread about flying saucers (this is Roswell-era America, after all), the overall mood is quiet, reflective and even--something quite new for the Coens--compassionate. Their protagonist, barber Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton, proving himself one of the great chameleon actors of our time), is a man trapped by his own impassivity--inside him, a seething mass of emotion that he's utterly unable to express. In true Coen style, his frustration leads him into a fatal move that spirals disastrously out of control.

Thornton is ably supported by a whole gallery of Coen regulars--Frances McDormand, Jon Polito, Tony Shalhoub--plus James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) and an amazingly assured turn from Scarlett Johansson (Ghost World). The dialogue, as you'd expect, is masterly, while the brothers' regular collaborators Director of Photography Roger Deakins and production designer Dennis Gassner work wonders of period evocation, and Carter Burwell contributes a haunting score.

On the DVD: The Man Who Wasn't There comes to DVD in a sharp, clean 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer that captures all the depth and subtlety of Deakins' superb photography, impeccably matched by the crystal-clear Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. A lavish helping of extras includes a trailer and two TV spots, stills photo gallery, filmographies, a 16-minute "making of" featurette, an overlong (47 minutes) interview with Deakins, a batch of deleted scenes, and best of all, the voice-over commentary. This gives us not just Joel and Ethan, but Billy Bob as well, chatting and chortling and clearly enjoying every second of the movie they've made. Their enthusiasm is irresistible. –-Philip Kemp

Synopsis
Ed is a chain-smoking barber who blackmails his wife's boss so he can invest in a dry-cleaning business - but it all goes wrong...

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Man Who Wasn't There [VHS] [2001]
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The Man Who Wasn't There [VHS] [2001] 4.3 out of 5 stars (19)
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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars they don't make 'em like they used to... or do they?, 1 Aug 2004
This review is from: The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) [DVD] (DVD)
Having not really seen any Coen Brothers films previously I was really not too sure what to expect of this neo-noir vehicle of theirs. However, ten minutes into viewing it I realised that this was somehow different to any other film I'd seen before from recent years. I thought it would be a pretentious and manipulative film merely ripping off the old classics under the pretence of homage and art but it is far from that. This beautifully staged, costumed and atmospheric film in icy black and white has a gripping, intelligent plot and a central character who seems so vacuous and unemotional and bored in his suburban life that things turn fantastically dark at a quick, clean pace.

The plot begins reasonably simple (as do the characters), a blackmail attempt on Billy Bob Thornton's part to finance an investment into dry cleaning. However, things soon become very complex and demanding when murder, incorrect indictment and other such things inundate the picture. But still Thornton's character drifts his way through his troubles and offers occasionally inspiring lines of wisdom and the blandly imparted but true philosophies of his life. His boredom and his alienation makes him a dislikeable but trustworthy narrator for such a dark film.

'The man who wasn't there' is a very artful, quietly knowing film, lined with the malignant, full of twists, at times surreal and funny and a film that moves at its own pace to its grim and moving conclusion. It has the basis of a simple film about dissatisfaction from the forties and it investigates the problems with 'surburban boredom' and the darker and more murderous side of resolving this. A very clever film.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The domino effect, 23 Jul 2006
By T. Bobley "Tibley Bobley" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) [DVD] (DVD)
Ed's a barber. He doesn't say much. He's bored - or would be if he could be arsed. He has no ambition until a couple of events coincide and coalesce into a glimmer of hope for a bit of a change: first, he thinks there are clear signs that his wife and her boss are having an affair and that bothers him a little and second, a man comes in for a haircut and plants the seed of an idea for a venture capital investment. He hasn't actually got any spare cash but there is someone he can blackmail. It's a simple plan. What could go wrong? ... everything goes wrong. A cascade of unforeseen consequences follow and his world comes tumbling down. It's a disaster.

I first came across this film after I'd tracked down one of my favourite films, "The Hudsucker Proxy". Unbelievably that film isn't available in an unbundled state for Region 2 DVD players. So, disgusted and defeated, I had to buy a whole box of films called "The Coen Brothers' Collection" because it happened to have "The Hudsucker Proxy" in it. It was like a happy accident. There were three other films in the box that I probably wouldn't have watched if I hadn't had to buy the lot in order to get the one film I wanted. "The Man Who Wasn't There" wasn't in the box but after I'd watched those films, I looked for more Coen Brothers' films and found this. A couple of days after the first time I watched it, I was driving home after an exceptionally awful day at work, feeling grim and grumpy and, in an effort to relax and stop grinding my teeth, I started thinking about some of my favourite parts of this film. By half way home I was laughing.

The story is dark, occasionally weird and (if you share the Coen sense of humour) very funny. The acting is just about perfect and the black and white photography is gorgeous. It has all the elements of a favourite film. Highly recommended.
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36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Ultimate Acting - Depressing, But Worth It, 7 Jan 2003
By Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) [DVD] (DVD)
Once again, the Coen Brothers have crafted an exquisite period story on film. Following up on the sepia tone of "O Brother..." the look of this film is darker with more a distinct range of black and white hard edges and shadows, rather than simply a grey patina. It fits the mood, which centers around a simple barber (Billy Bob Thronton) in 1940's Santa Rosa, California, his somewhat antsy wife (Frances McDormand) and a local merchant who may be a crook (James Gandolfini). Simply put (and it's not), it tells the tale of a man who just wants a little bit more out of life and the price he has to pay. Thornton is good as the man with little to say and McDormand is brilliant as the unhappy wife who bites off a little more than she can chew. The Coen Brothers always throw in valuable side characters to intensify the drama and give a wilder spin to the story. I won't reveal any more of the plot, but suffice it to say, it's full of twists and surprises. Brilliant performances are had by every actor (check out the sleazy little salesman who barters with Thorton - "wink"). Besides being a fun story, paced just right, the look is fantastic, as usual. It seems the Coen's frame each shot as if it were meant to be an 8 X 10.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Great little B&W murder thriller set in 1949
From the notorious Coen brothers, this thriller was shot in colour but released in black and white.

Set in 1949 (hence the black and white which adds period... Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. J. HORN

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovingly crafted work of pure genius
'The closer you look, the less you see', remarks the brilliantly Jewish lawyer in this film. Some have said the same about the typical Coen film script, but when it comes as... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Bruno

3.0 out of 5 stars a lacklustre Coen movie...well there's a thing!
The Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan, both of whom write, produce and direct this movie) have made some great films (Raising Arizona, Blood Simple, Fargo, Millers Crossing) and one... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. Rwj Nixon

5.0 out of 5 stars great
I got this on the basis of the title and that's it. I've not been too impressed in general by the Coen Brothers and can't understand what the fuss is about The Big Lebrowski... Read more
Published on 10 May 2007 by M. O. HAYNES

2.0 out of 5 stars Clever but contrived
I just wanted to add a note of caution - I'm a fan of both the Coen Brother's work and Film Noir but felt let down by this production. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2007 by Peter Young

4.0 out of 5 stars the film that wasn't there
After the success of their southern odyssey O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Coen brothers once again proved themselves to be the most unpredictable filmmakers in Hollywood by... Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2006 by Eli

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect film noir
A dark and memorable film noir narrated by the main character as he recalls how the events of the story unfolded, The Man Who Wasn't There is a tale of murder, blackmail and... Read more
Published on 16 April 2006 by David Welsh

5.0 out of 5 stars Coen gold
Ed Crane is the chain smoking barber and the man who wasn't there, one of the latest offerings from the impressive Coen brothers. Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2004 by J. T. Brennan

4.0 out of 5 stars Another odd-fashioned movie.
This is not one of my favourite Coen Brothers films, but it's still very good and The Man Who Wasn't There has much to recommend it. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2004 by jeremyneal

5.0 out of 5 stars To be handled carefully
This is a beautiful movie, done in film-noir style. The main character could've been played by Bogart, but Billy Bob Thornton does it briliantly and should have got every best... Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2003

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