Aficionados of classic film noir will find this 21st century evocation of the style absolutely captivating right from the start as stunning cinematography, an uneasy atmosphere and a plot in which adultery, blackmail and murder are featured, all provide early indications of how meticulously the look and content of the piece have been created. Its story about a man who makes an error of judgement that sends his life into a downward spiral will, of course, be familiar to noir fans but in this case, the adverse consequences are so far-reaching that they also go on to devastate the lives of a number of other key characters as well.
Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) is the laconic, chain-smoking, barber with a blank stare who mans the second chair at his brother-in-law's hairdressing business in Santa Rosa, California in 1949. His reticence and apparent lack of enthusiasm also spill over into his personal life where he seems to derive no joy from the parties or bingo sessions that he attends with his wife Doris (Frances McDormand) who's a heavy drinker and works as a bookkeeper at the town's largest department store (Nirdlinger's). She and her boss, Big Dave (James Gandolfini) who married into the business and claims to have been a war hero, have been having an affair for some time.
One day, at the barber's shop, near closing time, a stranger called Creighton Tolliver (Jon Polito) calls by for a haircut and after removing his toupee, tells Ed that he's trying to set up a dry-cleaning business which is guaranteed to be profitable but he needs a silent partner and $10,000 capital to go ahead with the project. After giving the matter some thought, Ed successfully raises the money by blackmailing his wife's lover and immediately passes the cash on to Tolliver.
From that point on, things go from bad to worse as Ed realises he's been scammed, kills Big Dave in self defence and sees Doris arrested for murder and cooking the books at Nirdlinger's. The numerous developments that follow are full of wonderful twists, black humour and tragedy and lead inexorably to the story's deeply ironic conclusion.
In typical Coen Brothers' style, the movie's characters are full of interesting eccentricities, the dialogue is smart and succinct and there are also a couple of entertaining subplots involving UFOs and Ed's fascination with a teenage piano player called Birdy (Scarlett Johansson). Billy Bob Thornton's portrayal of Ed Crane is flawless as he manages to make his difficult character very real and convincing. The supporting players are also terrific, especially Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini and Tony Shalhoub who plays a high-powered defence lawyer whose considerable talent in only surpassed in magnitude by his incredible arrogance.
Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) is the laconic, chain-smoking, barber with a blank stare who mans the second chair at his brother-in-law's hairdressing business in Santa Rosa, California in 1949. His reticence and apparent lack of enthusiasm also spill over into his personal life where he seems to derive no joy from the parties or bingo sessions that he attends with his wife Doris (Frances McDormand) who's a heavy drinker and works as a bookkeeper at the town's largest department store (Nirdlinger's). She and her boss, Big Dave (James Gandolfini) who married into the business and claims to have been a war hero, have been having an affair for some time.
One day, at the barber's shop, near closing time, a stranger called Creighton Tolliver (Jon Polito) calls by for a haircut and after removing his toupee, tells Ed that he's trying to set up a dry-cleaning business which is guaranteed to be profitable but he needs a silent partner and $10,000 capital to go ahead with the project. After giving the matter some thought, Ed successfully raises the money by blackmailing his wife's lover and immediately passes the cash on to Tolliver.
From that point on, things go from bad to worse as Ed realises he's been scammed, kills Big Dave in self defence and sees Doris arrested for murder and cooking the books at Nirdlinger's. The numerous developments that follow are full of wonderful twists, black humour and tragedy and lead inexorably to the story's deeply ironic conclusion.
In typical Coen Brothers' style, the movie's characters are full of interesting eccentricities, the dialogue is smart and succinct and there are also a couple of entertaining subplots involving UFOs and Ed's fascination with a teenage piano player called Birdy (Scarlett Johansson). Billy Bob Thornton's portrayal of Ed Crane is flawless as he manages to make his difficult character very real and convincing. The supporting players are also terrific, especially Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini and Tony Shalhoub who plays a high-powered defence lawyer whose considerable talent in only surpassed in magnitude by his incredible arrogance.