Movie Review: Hail, Caesar! (on DVD)

Hail, Caesar!
[DVD Hail]

Another quirky entry from the Coen Brothers (Ethan and Joel), known for their idiosyncratic and unpredictable dramas willed with fascinating characters and complex plots.

Hail Caesar definitely falls into that style. The plot of this film centers around the U.S. film industry in Hollywood in the early 1950s. Josh Brolin plays Eddie Mannix — a “fixer” who solves problems for his clients in the entertainment industry. Leading Man Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) has disappeared just before filming the climax of a religious epic, and is believed to have been abducted. Through the course of the investigation into what’s happened with Whitlock, Mannix interacts with assorted and sundry odd individuals on the periphery of movie-making, including a group of blacklisted communist screenwriters (responsible for Whitlock’s disappearance).

The plot of this one isn’t really much to speak of, but the performances of some of Hollywood’s most interesting actors is what draws your notice. The attention to detail in costuming, set design, music, and the overall look of this film were all excellent. In the end, I didn’t really care about any of the characters, so the film ended up mainly being “style over substance”. But that style was excellent, and enough for me to recommend this film. If you liked past Coen Brothers productions (Fargo, No Country For Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading, or Inside Llewyn Davis), you’ll enjoy this one as well.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try basically anything else by Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Hail Caesar! Facebook page ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service

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