Summary
Everett, Pete, and Delmar aren’t just down on their luck during the Great Depression. They are chained together in a chain gang, till they break free in an attempt to find buried treasure that is.
My Viewing
I don’t remember my first time watching this movie. I’ve seen it about 50 times and up until recently, it was my favorite Coen Brothers film. I did re-watch it for this review, however, just to refresh my memory as it has been a couple years since I basically had it on repeat.
As soon as the opening dull thud clang of pick axes being buried into the earth ring out of the speakers, I am transported back in time, both to the great depression and my early twenties when I first discovered this film.
My Thoughts
The Coens have all sorts of films in their oeuvre but when you ask people which one is their favorite, many times, they will basically default to the one that tickles their funny bone the most. For me, that is “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Don’t get me wrong, not everyone is like that. There are plenty of people who prefer “No Country for Old Men,” and that one is anything but a rip roaring comedy and “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” certainly has is softer moments but in its heart, it’s a comedy and a gut buster at that.
As I write I find myself wondering why this one gets me laughing so hard and I think it’s for a lot of reasons. The first is that there is something hilarious to me about adapting a story like “The Iliad,” a Classic (in the Greek foundational principles sense of the word) High Myth Hero's Journey, and setting it in the deep south during the great depression. There couldn’t be anything less grand than that.
The other thing I find so funny are the characters. Between the three of them, Everett (George Clooney, “Burn After Reading”) Pete (John Turturro, “Barton Fink”) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”) are each one of them hilarious on their own but the interplay between them is priceless.
Everett is the fast talking knowledgeable man of the world, always scheming and angling for what will give him an edge. He may be knowledgeable but he’s not always right or even trying to be right. He’s just trying to get his own way and facts, exaggerations, stories, and quickly spoken half truths are his way of doing it.
Pete is easily out matched by Everett because while he may have a better sense of what is just and looks out for what is fair and right, he is also dumb. As such, Everett almost always gets away with whatever he wants and Pete is left continually frustrated in his attempts to make sure he isn’t getting the short straw.
Delmar is dumb as well but sweet. He wants everyone to just get along and is always looking to be helpful. Of course, as Everett, Pete and pretty much any other person they run into is always looking to pull one over on each other, this puts him in the awkward position of never really knowing whose side to be on, since he’s on everyone’s side.
This trio of silliness leads to some of the funniest back and forth conversations, shouting matches, and name calling I’ve ever seen on screen.
The last thing that makes this movie really funny to me, and I know this is controversial, is the southern drawl of every character in this film. My Grandmother was originally from Arkansas and while her accent has much diminished over the 35 years I’ve known her, it was very strong to me when I was younger. I always thought it was funny that she referred to Meijer (a local grocery chain) as ‘Maars.” For me, a southern accent is both funny and fond when I hear it so I know some people may not get the same feeling from this film as I do but for me it is a perfect combination to go with the themes of the movie.
The themes in this film are certainly Coen Brother classics. The values of brotherhood, family, sacrifice, and hard work, with edges of fate, the supernatural, or karmic justice are ever present in their films but the way they blend it with that southern gospel and dry dust working man mentality cuts through strong in this film. It isn’t lost on me that the three leads in this film form a close bond, the film is called “O BROTHER, Where Art Thou,” and it was directed by the Coen BROTHERS. As a brother myself I can attest to the spirit of camaraderie that can form between siblings and this film oozes with it. There is nothing like the bond that can form between people when they journey together and seem to meld into one person in three bodies almost.
The last thing I will extol in this film is the music. I leave it for last because it is the best. Old time twang and southern gospel in its many forms. Upbeat and praise filled, down low and mournful, and wistful longing for a home that is not yet ours. It is used for good and evil alike and the solace of those broken by life and their fellow human beings as well as the joy in the hearts of children still ignorant of life’s troubles. There are many songs in this film that feels as if you might have been able to hear them on any summer evening as you drove by the porches of families all gathered outside to enjoy the cool breeze accompanying the setting sun.
Perhaps that is what I, actually, love the most about this film. The sense of coming home after hard times away. The belief that, while family is worth everything, close friends are often the crucible through which we are refined and make us better people for our families when we do get home and join them. The journey is not the destination, but it does change us and make us into the people who will arrive there.
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