2008 - BURN AFTER READING, a black comedy from the Coen Brothers

This is what I would call a typical Coen Brothers comedy.  The characters are very stupid and the humor is very black.  George Clooney plays a US Marshall who is definitely not the smartest guy in the room.  He is having an affair with the wife of a fired CIA analyst played by John Malkovich.  Malkovich's wife is played by Tilda Swinton in another one of her typically cold performances.

The plot has something to do with some trainers at a local Washington DC gym getting a hold of a computer disc which contains a tell all book about the CIA that Malkovich is writing. Hoping to make money from it the trainers peddle it around Washington DC looking for a buyer.  From there the plot gets more complicated as the actors move through the Coen Brothers complex and very cynical plot turns.

 

Since this is a Coen Brothers film, the level of film making is at their usual highly skilled level.  I believe the problem here is that every character is just incredibly unlikable.  The audience has literally no one to sympathize with.  The film kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth after it ends.

The Burn After Reading is certainly entertaining enough.  But I think I have come to expect a little more from the Coens.

Written as usual by Joel and Ethan Coen, the running time is 96 minutes.