"Burn After Reading" Review

Burn After Reading is the Cohen brothers follow up to their Oscar award winning hit "No Country For Old Men." The Cohen's go for a more comical approach to this film and pack it full of major stars to create a unique and enjoyable film that will stand out amongst the drivel that film companies put out in the september/october months.

The point of this movie in essence is that there is no point. This movie is most certainly a black comedy that is heavy in irony and satire as opposed to the Will Ferrell school of comedy. This will not appeal to everybody and you have to go into it knowing that this is a smart comedy and every joke will not be made obvious, if you want obvious humor with little payoff then you're better off renting a Sandler or Mike Myers flick.

Burn After Reading makes use of well written dialogue and intertwining multiple characters for some outrageous scenarios. John Malkovich plays a CIA agent who has been the victim of some workplace politics and ends up losing his job. He decides to use this time off to write a memoir about his life in the CIA. His bitch on wheels wife is played by Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, Chronicles of Narnia) who is tired of her marriage and cheating with George Clooney's character who is a serial womanizer. She decides that she wants to assess her husband's wealth to prepare for divorce and goes through the family computer to get his hidden bank info. She copies the contents of this info onto a disc not knowing that it also contains his manuscript full of CIA secrets. This cd ends up in the hands of two bumbling employees at a local gym played by Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand. They decide to try to get money as a reward for returning the disc and then comedy ensues. The characters storylines intertwine with each other and you really have no clue what bizarre event will unfold next. Brad Pitt steals the show as Chad a personal trainer at the gym. He plays the character so well that you feel for him and Linda (McDormand) even though they're doing something wrong.

Words really can't do the plot of this movie justice as it really is like an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with sex and violence. The Cohen brothers do a good job in pacing this film as the 97 minute running time flies by and leaves you wanting more. They also do a good job of keeping it pretty light and the story is pretty easy to follow considering the amount of twists and turns. Burn After Reading is remisicent of a type of movie we just don't get to see these days. Every actor in this film is on top of their game, most of them playing themselves almost. George Clooney as the heartthrob, Swinton as a cold hearted bitch, Brad Pitt as a guy with looks but no brains, and Malkovich constantly at his boiling point. I can't recommend this for everyone as it certainly has its audience, but fans of dark comedy will surely make this a cult hit.

8.5/10