O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW9Xo2HtlJI

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When one journey gets bigger than expected, it might be the best one you’ll ever have.


PLOT


Inspired by Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’, 2000’s O Brother Where Art Thou? takes place in 1937 Mississippi. Ulysses Everett McGill, Delmar O’Donnell and Pete escape chain gang prison together to find buried treasure left by the former before the area is flooded to make a lake. As they escape together, they first ride a handcar driven by a blind man, the Blind Seer (Lee Weaver), who claims they’ll find a different fortune from what they’re seeking. They first stop to Pete’s cousin Wash (Frank Collison) who frees them from their shackles, but they don’t stay long when the latter sells the trio out to Sheriff Cooley, who burns down the barn. They survive thanks to the assist of Wash’s son, but they quickly part ways with the boy and two of them get baptized in a nearby river. They then pick up a young black man named Tommy Johnson (Chris Thomas King) who claimed to have sold his soul to the devil for the sake of playing guitar. Together, they form a band, The Soggy Bottom Boys, and perform a cover to ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’ on the radio for instant cash. They part ways with Tommy as well when the car they steal is spotted by Cooley. Soon after, the trio then tags along with outlaw George Nelson (Michael Badalucco) until he drifts apart from them depressed. As they keep moving with his car, they stop to mingle with three women washing clothes near the river and share corn liquor together. When they wake up, the guys find Pete’s clothes empty with the exception of a toad. Delmar mistakes Pete to have turned into a toad and keeps it with until he and Everett get mugged by one eyed bible salesman Big Dan who kills what he assumed to be his friend. The two do see Pete with another chain gang when heading to Everett’s hometown of Canton, but they believe it to be a hallucination. As they reach town, Everett reunites with his wife Penny, but is stunned that she plans to marry to campaign manager Vernon T Waldrip and has told their daughters he was struck by a train. When he tries fighting Vernon for her honor, he easily loses. As he recovers at a movie theater with Delmar, they officially reunite with Pete who warns them Cooley is gonna ambush them at the treasure site, as he was tortured to give up the location. By the time they later free Pete at night, Everett admits there never was any treasure and that he made it up to set out stopping his wife from remarrying. Just as Pete confronts him for his lies, the trio stumbles into a ku klux klan rally, whose grand wizard happens to be governor candidate Homer Stokes who Vernon is managing for. They spot Tommy about to be lynched and as they save him, they drop the burning cross on Big Dan who was also a member of the klan. Despite their differences, Everett is able to convince the guys to still help him get Penny back. Together, they sneak into a campaign rally dinner meant for dinner under the disguise of hillbilly singers. Just as Everett pleas with Penny to give him another chance, he seems to win her and the crowd over when singing ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’ unaware how popular their cover became. Stokes recognizes them from his klan rally and demands them all to be arrested for foiling his intentions. Instead, the road runs him out of town for his supremacist views, inspiring governor Pappy O’Daniel (Charles Durning) to pardon the band. Just as Penny reconsiders remarrying Everett as long as he finds the original ring he proposed, the band would be stunned to see George Nelson again, delighted to be paraded by a mob on the way for his execution. As the band reaches Everett’s cabin, Cooley is still waiting for them and dismisses the claims of them being pardoned. As Everett chooses his last words to be a prayer, the valley floods and the officers die while the band survives  by floating on top of their cousins. Tommy does find a ring in the flotsam and gives it to Everett. When he gives it to Penny, she denies it being the same one she wants. As they playfully bicker over it, the film ends with the same blind seer passing by Everett’s family on the railroad tracks.


THOUGHTS


If there is one thing I like the most when it comes to Joel & Ethan Coen making movies together is that you’re either going to see something hella crazy or hella fun and this one fits right into the latter because I had such a big and unlikely smile throughout. The second the camera is rolling and you’re immersed by Roger Deakins’ cinematography, you just know you’re set for an unusual blast. I can go on and on with how authentic the 30s looks with its costume/production doesn’t, but I am losing it over the soundtrack. I don’t even listen to folk music, yet I’m instantly vibing to it. Everytime I’m hearing “In the Jailhouse Now” or “Man of Constant Sorrow”, I’m in an upbeat mood the way people felt in that generation. Simultaneously, hearing those songs do bring this movie full circle in telling audiences how redemption pays off best when being selfless with love no matter the hardships that come along. If you let loose just a little bit rather than over-rely on cynicism, then things will get better when least expected. This is the exact case when following along an unlikely trio who become brothers when they weren’t trying. George Clooney leads the ensemble as this adaptation’s equivalent of Odysseus who has a lot of pride in him. Apart from preferring Dapper Dan to do his hair the way he likes it, he’s genuine in wanting to set things right but messes up in not being upfront with those he drags with him. Tim Blake Nelson & John Turturro may portray their own levels of being gullible as Delmar & Pete, yet they still had hearts of gold despite the mistakes that led to their prison sentence in the first place. I think the reason they still chose to stay by his side after the truth is out is because he’s the first one to give them any kind of hope in their lives and they know deep down he’s still good otherwise he would’ve not saved Tommy, who was too gentle for the world to be harmed despite the personal decision he made. It did work out because Tommy would find the one thing that would keep him and Penny together. In that time period, you can’t blame her wanting to move on with someone more stable because seven daughters ain’t easy for any parent. And I think that’s why Everett loves her so much, she’s this story equivalent to Penelope where she knows best to be practical apart from being ideally pragmatic in her generation. Just from a little bit of time we get with Ray McKinnon, he assures us Vernon is pompous yet can hold his own as that might have been for Everett. Without that ring, whether or not it is the right one, it’s hard to know where things would be for the two but at least she saw how bad he wants to do right by her. When you take part in a journey back home, you’re bound to encounter some bizarre characters. Three of which just happen to be quite evil. Daniel Von Bargen creeped me out so much making Cooley the most ruthless since he clearly gets a kick out of pain he inflicts whether or not it’s necessary, and Wayne Duvall a big old hypocrite as Stokes he claims to be the common man yet chooses to be downright vindictive and thinks everyone is onboard with it. John Goodman definitely brought that to the table as the sociopathic cyclops Big Dan, but each of their downfalls proved there’s a cost to being pure evil. It’s hard to know what else is to come with Everett now that things went back to normal for him, but I’d like to think his life has just begun after unlikely rehabilitation. In short, O Brother Where Art Thou? remains a classic comedic adventure for just letting the chaos ensue for us to enjoy every bit of it. If those are the kind of movie experiences you prefer, check this out.