Craft and language

Coen Brothers genre pieces are rarely without an ironic twist or two, a knowing nod to the implausibilities of the … More

The past present serious tense

Roger Deakins’s brilliant cinematography has been conspicuous in some of the Coen Brothers’s films—in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, for … More

It’s an interesting proposition, a romantic comedy starring Hollywood ‘A’-listers, written and directed by the Coen Brothers. What would these … More

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is an altogether more straightforward seeming film than the Coen Brothers’ typical output. Goofy comedies … More

Certain themes and techniques recur throughout Joel and Ethan Coen’s films. Convoluted crime stories with arbitrary conclusions in which none … More

People like to ascribe meanings to Coen Brothers films. I mean, they must mean something, right? They’re so tricksy and … More

The Big Lebowski is such a legendary movie that it’s almost embarrassing to admit this is the first time I’ve … More

One might be forgiven for thinking that the Joel and Ethan Coen made Barton Fink in order to dispel suspicions … More