As good a film as I've seen this year.
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11/07/07
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The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
80 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 149
Fresh: 119
Rotten:30
Average Rating: 7/10
Consensus: Stylish but emotionally distant, TMWWT is a clever tribute to the noir genre.
Theatrical Release: Oct 31, 2001 Limited
Box Office: $7,408,031
Synopsis: The Coen brothers' THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE is a brilliantly photographed black-and-white absurdist noir set in Santa Rosa, California, in 1949. Ed Crane (the outstanding Billy Bob Thornton) is a slow-moving, barely talking barber who... [More]
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, Michael Badalucco
Director: Joel Coen
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Reviews for The Man Who Wasn't There
The film holds the interest, to be sure, but more due to the sure sense of craft and precise effect that one expects from the Coens than from genuine involvement in the story.
11/07/07
Top Critic Joel and Ethan Coen stay true to their bent for dense heroes and neonoir, and to their unshakable conviction that life usually turns out to be splendidly horrific.
11/07/07
Top Critic Thornton does wonders within the tabula rasa of words and gestures he's limited to.
09/27/07
Slowly paced for a thriller and with a hero many will find off-putting, this is nevertheless a gripping, unusual and challenging work from the most consistently brilliant filmmakers of the last decade.
12/30/06
In this the Coens' sly script is helped no end by Billy Bob Thornton's supremely eloquent performance as the taciturn tonsor, lent terrific support from Frances McDormand as the wife.
06/24/06
Despite the movie's humor and sense of irony, it takes on a sense of somberness as it progresses.
07/21/05
Top Critic It's perfectly, elegantly reticent about its subject matter, as suits both the theme and the tradition of film noir (a type of filmmaking that thrives on unstated motives).
03/03/05
You've heard of a 'vacant stare'; now you know what it's like for the person staring.
12/06/04
Thornton's ultra low key performance is a plus, as is the effectively moody, black and white cinematography.
10/30/04
Once again, Ethan and Joel Coen have twisted a film genre into something new.
06/23/04
Joel and Ethan Coen have created an excellent film that intelligent audiences should really appreciate.
02/24/04
A perfectly executed illustration of what is not, quite, great about the Coen brothers, which is a kind of grandstanding, and another kind of weirdly alienating insincerity.
10/19/03
Makes people wish they could still light up in cinemas. It might not be the Coens at their best, but they still blow smoke in the faces of all the competition.
05/22/03
The Coen Brothers continue to trick up the past, skewing film noir and the late '40s through their deadpan sensibility.
05/20/03
A quiet, contemplative noir thriller with a look and tone uncannily reminiscent of Hitchcock and a slow, brooding pace that at times undermines its effectiveness.
02/08/03
Breathtaking cinematography almost covers up some of the structural inconsistencies.
01/29/03
The resulting hodgepodge is a medley of the brothers' favorite verbal and visual tics, making much noise and signifying nothing.
12/08/02
Latest News for The Man Who Wasn't There
April 27, 2008:
RT interview: Roger Deakins on No Country for Old Men
Cinematographer, Roger Deakins, comes out from behind the lens to discuss his long time collaboration with the Coen brothers and No Country for Old Men. More...
November 07, 2007:
Total Recall: Welcome to Coen Brothers Country
Before expanding wide on November 21, No Country for Old Men (90 percent) will play in select cities this Friday riding a wave of huge expectations. The Cormac McCarthy-based... More...
February 02, 2006:
Coens Aim to Tackle New "Country"
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joel & Ethan Coen's next film will be an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men." Word is that Tommy Lee... More...
September 07, 2005:
Clooney & Coens to Reunite for "Hail Caesar"
Apparently the latest issue of Vogue Magazine is being credited with the scoop, but fansite CoenBrothers.net broke the news about two months ago: George Clooney plans to reunite... More...
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THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE - wasn't the only thing missing!
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