Who payed the critics

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A Major Disappointment

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The Cohen brothers did a marvellous job in delivering a suspenseful film noir in which a tavern owner named Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya) is betrayed by his wife Abby (Frances McDormand) who is having an extra marital affair with one of Julian's tavern employee's named Ray (John Getz). Julian wants to confirm his suspicions so he hires an overweight and slimy private detective named Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) to follow his wife Abby to see if she is in fact involved in a sexual relationship with Ray.Not only does Loren Visser confirm Julian's worst suspicions about his wife Abby's sexual relationship with Ray, Loren gleefully provides to Julian some compromising photographs of Abby and Ray that take Julian by surprise and lead to his wanting to confront his wife Abby about her affair. Julian's reaction to seeing those dirty photos sends him over the edge and when his attempt to physically pull Abby out of the arms of her lover Ray fails, Julian reluctantly seeks the assistance of the slimy private detective Loren Visser once again. Julian wants Loren Visser to murder his wife Abby and her lover Ray and do away with their bodies where no one will ever find them.The plot thickens and the four main characters in this Cohen brother film noir being Abby (Frances McDormand), her lover Ray (John Getz), Abby's revenge filled husband Julian (Dan Hedaya), and the overweight slimy Private Detective Loren Visser (M. Emmett Walsh) who Julian hires carry this film from beginning to end with a generous amount of intrigue sprinkled in as well as to whom really betrays whom. This is in my humble opinion an under rated film noir and respecting of more recognition than the over rated (1990) Millers Crossing. I thought Dan Hedaya's portrayal of the tavern owner Julian Marty whose employee barman and wife are having an illicit affair right under his nose and in his attempt to seek revenge results in his own destruction is poignant. The betrayal by all four of the key characters is what makes this Cohen brothers film deserving of belonging in the criterion collection. I give this fast paced film noir a nine (9) out of ten (10) rating. Dan Hedaya was definitely robbed and should have been Oscar nominated for either a Best Actor or at least Best Supporting Actor for his emotional and vengeful portrayal of Julian Marty.

Scuzzy cuckolded bar owner Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya in peak oily form) hires sleazy private detective Visser (marvelously played to the deliciously odious hilt by M. Emmet Walsh) to murder his unfaithful wife Abby (an excellent portrayal by Frances McDormand) and her earnest lover Ray (a solid performance by John Getz). However, human error enters into the equation and things spiral dangerously out of control.Joel and Ethan Coen bring a standard noir situation kicking and screaming into a bright, lurid, and sweaty Texas world in their striking cinematic debut: We've got a dark brooding atmosphere, a colorful array of nicely sordid characters, an absorbing premise that's firmly grounded in a plausibly seamy and starkly amoral workaday reality, inspired touches of wickedly funny black humor, fine use of the dusty'n'desolate Lone Star State terrain, and a serpentine narrative in which a series of bad calls and misunderstandings culminate in a real doozy of a violent and nightmarish climax. The four leads all do sturdy work, with Walsh a particular stand-out as a super slimy worm who's more than willing to kill someone for the right price. Barry Sonnenfeld's gleaming cinematography provides an appropriately garish glittery neon look and boasts lots of sinuous tracking shots. Carter Burwell's spare moody score does the harmonic trick. Essential viewing.

Highly imaginative film that should please cynics and maybe existentialists. No need to echo the serpentine plot provided by others. What impresses me is how each of the four main characters is undone by their own self-enclosed world. Ultimately, each has his or her own fumbling reality that trust, love, or even hate can't bridge. Take Ray's love for Abby. Ultimately, he's undone by a web of conflicting emotions resulting from his own inability to bridge out from himself. In short, he's trapped in his own reality by a lack of trust in her and her steadfastness. At the same time, she herself flounders inside her own unstable perceptions. Anyhow, the neo-noir is done in superbly stylistic fashion that carries the storyline even when pacing slows or developments become murky. And catch that barren Texas countryside that mirrors the characters' predicament. Moreover, the performances from a bunch of then unknowns is accomplished, especially from the slimy Walsh. All in all, I wonder how many other brilliant indies have been thwarted for commercial reasons, particularly during Hollywood's fabled "Golden" period. Fortunately, the Coens persevered.

Joel and Ethan Coen seem as if they can do no wrong (I will admit that I have not seen "The Ladykillers" or "Intolerable Cruelty", but lets forget those critically panned least-favorites for now), even their earliest feature film is one of the most beautifully made, well scripted, and brilliantly structured movies I have ever seen! It's so unbelievably amazing that I have the urge to rewatch this masterpiece right now! It is seriously a genius work of cinema that combines the absurd with the shocking-a tour de force of thrills, chills, and, occasionally, laughs. It is quite important to mention the Coens' dark sense of humor and how it creeps into this film ever now and then. It may not always be present, but it is always possible that it will jump out and tickle the viewer at any moment.Practically ever single filmmaking aspect is done to sheer perfection. The characters are very interesting, even if they are rarely likable, and they are performed with perfection and intensity. The cinematography and haunting soundtrack also perfect the film on a technical level, and the screenplay and structure form an unpredictable and inventive masterpiece of the crime thriller.