Burn After Reading – Wer verbrennt sich hier die Finger? (2008)

Burn After Reading – Wer verbrennt sich hier die Finger?: Directed by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen. With George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich. A disk containing mysterious information from a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous and daft gym employees who attempt to sell it.

“Norman Cousins would have loved the Coen Brothersu0026#39; u0026quot;Burn After Reading.u0026quot; The late great Saturday Review editor had treated his illness with Marx Brothers movies, having u0026quot;made the joyous discovery that 10 minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI have never felt healthier than after 96 minutes of explosive and grateful laughter at the u0026quot;Burnu0026quot; screening, also marveling at the array of British-stage caliber acting from u0026quot;Fargou0026quot;-invoking Frances McDormand, witchy-icy Tilda Swinton, a more-manic-than-ever John Malkovich, and a dozen major players, such as J.K. Simmons as the deadpan CIA boss and Richard Jenkins as the former Greek Orthodox priest, now running an upscale gym.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOthers may lead the cast list with George Clooney and Brad Pitt, but to me, their performances were just a bit on the self-conscious side, trying too hard. At any rate, itu0026#39;s a great cast, and while the plot might have turned into a dud in somebody elseu0026#39;s treatment, the Coen Brothersu0026#39; writing is hilarious, their zingers deadly.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA critic, probably with bad digestion, has decried this u0026quot;very black comedy set in a blanched, austere-looking Washington, D.C. — an uninspiring and uncomfortable place in which everyone betrays everyone else, and the emotional tone veers from icy politeness to spitting rage and back again.u0026quot; If I had a chance to think, instead of enjoying u0026quot;Burn,u0026quot; I would have contemplated Molière and Evelyn Waugh, their comedies of manners, psychological insight, and unbridled great humor.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYes, there are betrayals (none better than the totally unexpected one at the end of the film), and there is rage, but all contained within a glorious bubble of writing-directing-acting excellence. u0026quot;Burnu0026quot; grips and holds, surprises and entertains, it is a virtuoso piece.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDonu0026#39;t be misled by the a u0026quot;action-traileru0026quot; on TV, saturating the airwaves; it says nothing of the film. Malkovich punching Pitt over a compromising CD of spook stuff is not at the heart of this – the McDormand characteru0026#39;s pursuit of cosmetic surgery is, what with her self-examination, a lengthy session with the surgeon (Jeffrey DeMunn, in a brilliant turn), her desperate quest for a way to pay for it. Funny and going deep at the same time, u0026quot;Burnu0026quot; presents a series of character studies (hence the thought of Molière), in the context of mannered yet true social interactions (Waugh).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSkip descriptions of the plot, reject self-righteous denunciations of smart skepticism and charming evil, go and wallow in life-affirming laughter.”