O Brother, Where Art Thou?

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

D: Joel Coen; with John Turturro, George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson.

Homer’s The Odyssey updated to a Depression-era Preston Sturges comedy-spectacle? Oh, those wacky Coen boys — what will they think of next? Okay, so 1998’s The Big Lebowski was a bit of a mess (nihilists? marmots? huh?), and Fargo left you confused over whether to be depressed or joyous for a month after you saw it. With O Brother, Joel and Ethan Coen return to their slyly subversive slapstick roots and then some. Clooney, Turturro, and Nelson play convicts who are on the lam from a chain gang and encounter a variety of Homerian ne’er-do-wells — John Goodman’s one-eyed bible salesman, Charles Durning’s small-town politico — while fleeing from the man. A stunning bluegrass soundtrack and cameos from the likes of Holly Hunter and NewsRadio‘s Stephen Root enliven what’s almost sure to be the season’s oddest, most memorable film. (Jan. 12)

This article appears in November 24 • 2000.

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