Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13258 in Movie
• Released on: 2009-10-06
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Running time: 97 minutes

Customer Reviews

Pretty Great
After the true genius of No Country For Old Men, the Coen Brothers come back with a whole new dimension. Burn After Reading is a dark comedy about idiots faced with an intelligent and complex situation. Two Gym instructors Linda Litsky (Frances McDormand) and Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) find a disc containing the memoirs of ex CIA agent Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich). They, being idiots think it's a disc containing top secret information and try to bribe Osbourne for money which would help pay for Linda's cosmetic surgery. Things don't go to plan as Osbourne has bigger things on his mind, his wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) is having an affair with the paranoid Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney).

This film is actually quite intelligent in its own right, the characters seem well defined and are played superbly. The characters were specifically written for the actor playing them and it really shows.

John Malkovich portrays the agent lost of all hope well, you become quite intimidated by both his intelligence and temper.

George Clooney as the paranoid individual who's having more affairs than you can wave a stick at doesn't falter. He's jumpy, but hey who wouldn't be if you were sleeping with three different women. This eratic behaviour becomes a bit tragic and leads to the death of one of the characters in the film.

Brad Pitt as the loveable and wannabe cunning idiot is fantastic, the facial expressions and general stereotypical dexterity of what we would expect a personal trainer to be really works. This becomes especially amusing when he enters into the bribing game with Malkovich and starts to enter into the character of cunning spy. It has to be seen to be believed.

Frances McDormands character is the real shining light of the whole film as she's the catalyst leading up to the films biggest events. She's a middle aged gym instructor paranoid over the look of her body. While trying to get plastic surgery, she's turned down by her insurance company and is the one that convinces Pitts character to bribe Cox. She's a woman on the edge of giving up on life and wants to take one last leap into the chance of a relationship, but is made even more nervous by her own body insecurities.

The Coens once again create a film that is both surreal and believable, the characters are shockingly brilliant. The scenario is a bit over the top but comes together perfectly. There is something that bothered me, however, and that's the fact that every character in the film seemed to be having an affair with someone else. I don't know, maybe that was the whole point that made the film work. For fans of the Coens this is definitely one that sits proudly in their film catalogue next to such greats as No Country For Old Men and The Big Lebowski. I would strongly recommend it to any film fan overall, it's definitely worth it just for the Brad Pitt & Clooney facial expressions. Be warned though as if you're easily offended by swearing, then you might as well take your pad and pen with you to start writing your complaints letter.

Wonderful Black Comedy
The Coen brothers are nothing if not eclectic in their choice of film projects. "Fargo", "The Big Lebowksi", "No Country for Old Men" and, now, "Burn After Reading". Each film is quite unique. There is certainly no danger of the brothers being type cast.

"Burn After Reading" is a spoof spy film set in Washington. Its ensemble cast includes George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich and a wonderfully and eccentrically cast Brad Pitt. No one character steals the show. This could be a danger with such names but, somehow, the brothers ensure that each character has a role to play in this romp without any one actor taking all the lime light.

The plot involves a whole series of misunderstandings and mistakes as the lives of each character come closer together. In the end, paranoia runs rampant as some seem to win but, others, clearly lose. Perhaps the best way to describe the film is as black comedy. It is more subtle than the usual Hollywood comedy in the style of Jim Carrey or Steve Martin. It is also much darker. Yet, for all the double dealing, mistakes and misapprehensions, the story manages to remain connected as a whole. At no time does the viewer fail to join the dots.

Do not go looking for some greater or deeper meaning. "Burn After Reading" is simply a well cast spoof.

Burn After Reading
All of the Coen Brothers trademarks are here: the bumbling yet well-intentioned crooks in over their heads, the Preston Sturges-esque pace, the oddball yet strangely intellectual dialogue which only they can write in quite that way. It's a bit of a paint-by-numbers exercise for them at this point, yet the movie is never less than hysterical and incredibly entertaining. It's a sound piece of work to keep their rabid fan base (of which I am a proud member) happy, and is a kissing cousin to their earlier comedies like Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski. Tuckman Marsh!