The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Joel Coen

Writers (WGA):

Joel Coen (written by) &
Ethan Coen (written by)

Release Date:

26 October 2001 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

The last thing on his mind is murder.

Plot:

A laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong.

Plot Keywords:

Blackmail | Chain Smoking | Barber | Laconic | Piano

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 19 wins & 32 nominations

Cast

Billy Bob Thornton	...	Ed Crane
Frances McDormand	...	Doris Crane
Michael Badalucco	...	Frank
James Gandolfini	...	Big Dave Brewster
Katherine Borowitz	...	Ann Nirdlinger Brewster
Jon Polito	...	Creighton Tolliver
Scarlett Johansson	...	Birdy Abundas
Richard Jenkins	...	Walter Abundas
Tony Shalhoub	...	Freddy Riedenschneider
Christopher Kriesa	...	Officer Persky
Brian Haley	...	Officer Krebs
Jack McGee	...	P.I. Burns
Gregg Binkley	...	The New Man
Alan Fudge	...	Dr. Diedrickson
Lilyan Chauvin	...	Medium

Also Known As:

The Barber Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for a scene of violence.

Runtime:

116 min | Spain:118 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

New Zealand:R16 | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Portugal:M/12 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG (censored version) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38222)

Filming Locations:

Glendale, California, USA

Company:

Good Machine

Trivia:

Santa Rosa, California - a real town, and the setting for this film - is also the setting for Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ed lets himself in at Nirdlingers, he unlocks and opens the door on the right side. But when he leaves, he opens the door to the left. That door would have locks at the top and/or bottom that hold it closed even with the deadbolt unlocked and they can only be released from the inside (the order is you unlock the deadbolt, go inside and then release those locks so both doors swing free.) There would have been no reason for Ed to have unlocked those as well, since he wasn't opening the store for business, so that door should not have been able to be opened.

Quotes:

Ed Crane: Sooner or later everyone needs a haircut.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in True Blue Beauty (2003)

Soundtrack:

Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Op.57 (Appassionata)

Great pastiche of the noir genre

Ed Crane is a barber who quietly wants more from his life. When he meets a man with a business proposition he decides to go for it. He suspects his wife is having an affair with her boss and anonymously blackmails him – however things in noir are never straightforward and blackmail leads to murder and a series of events are sparked off around Ed.

I must say I'm surprised this is as high up the imdb charts as it is, but I'm not surprised by the lukewarm reception it had from multiplex audiences. This is a slow, moody homage where things just happen, rather than a neat `start-middle-tidy finish-bad guy dies' type thing. The Cohen brothers have a reputation for the old quirks and here is no different – mixing the steady noir narration with talk of haircuts and bingo makes for a strange if humorous mix. The plot is good but the noir feel mixed with weird going-ons may alienate many audiences.

Thornton is a perfect choice – his features fit well in the black and white shadows and his voice suits the noir narration. McDormand is good and Gandolfini gets another good role and does well. The support is very good – Badalucco, Shalhoub, Polito are all very good. Some elements of it are like a spot the TV face – we have Benrubi from ER, Higgins from Ally McBeal and Abundas from Six Feet Under all in small roles. It's even nice to see a cameo from McDonald.

Overall this isn't as funny as it was billed, simply because it is a noir. As such the Cohens mix the familiar themes of that genre with all new subjects and create a great effect.