O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The Coen Brothers have done it again. Three depression era convicts(George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson)escape a Mississippi chain gang and head off in search of buried treasure that will fund their new lives. Along the way, they sing on the radio and become much sought after stars as well as escapees. Great laughs and a soundtrack that is a lesson/introduction to bluegrass music.

Clooney is outstanding as the fast talking, quick witted Ulysses Everett McGill. Holly Hunter plays his estranged wife. Turturro and Nelson are flawless stumblebums. Also in the cast are John Goodman and Charles Durning.

Dan Tyminksi provides the singing voice for George Clooney on "I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow", the Soggy Bottom Boys song that serves as a template for the bluegrass laden soundtrack that also features Alison Krauss, Ralph Stanley, The Whites, John Hartford, The Cox Family and Gillian Welch. Toe tapping, knee slapping fun for the whole family. You'll be surprised with how relaxed and funny this movie is.

The Coen Brothers have truly outdone themselves in this wonderful saga of three escaped convicts. Though it is based on "The Odyssey," the ancient work of Homer, you do not have to have read "The Odyssey" to be able to follow the story. The brothers Coen have woven a tapestry of celluloid and aural delights! The soundtrack is intrinsic to the film, indeed it is as though the soundtrack is the product and the film is wrapping paper. Each character is wonderfully exploited and harkens back to the days of old when films were rich with character actors whose very appearance in the film adds richness, texture and authenticity. George Clooney is magnificent as the grease haired Everett Ulysses McGill, a honest con on the run whose pompous linguistics and vocabulary are comical and endearing. O Brother, Where Art Thou is easily the best Coen film to date as well as Clooney's best effort. Clooney is good enough to warrant a best actor nomination as is Tim Blake Nelson's portrayal of the dimwitted friend Delmar, while the film itself is deserving of a Best film nod.

We lived through the depression and related to some of the conditions portrayed. We have watched it perhaps a dozen times. Each time we see it we pick up on something we had missed because we were still laughing at, or discussing, an earlier scene or line. The entire film was a collection of photographically great faces. We are still asking ourselves whether the entire cast were professionals or whether some were individuals found on location. The film was rich with subtle tie-ins like the children tied together with twine, as the prisoners were connected by chains. We still think the cow may have been hit unintentionally. Fords of that era had mechanical brakes. The driver of the car may not have been accustomed the longer stopping distances required. The many allusions to Ulysses Odyssey inspired us to do an inter-net search. We found a modern text version and discovered more sly references. We appreciate blue grass and country music as originally American and found it thoroughly enjoyable, along with the authentic "Go To Sleep Little Baby" and "Down from the Mountain." We were emotionally touched by this film because of our age, and find it totally entertaining every time we view it. We are still amazed that someone not of our generation could have captured the essence of that period of United States history.

Having seen most of the Coen Brothers previous films I expected something different and slighty off centre. OBWAT is certainly those things, but it also has a heart as big as..well..as big as Mississippi. It is one of the most plainly enjoyable movies to have come out in recent times, intelligent, well-crafted, clever and superbly acted.

Characters are delivered in their myriad shades by a group of marvellous actors. George Clooney winning me over completely with his Clark Gable-ish looks and character. Having only ever seen him in Three Kings and his Thin Red Line cameo, I am now a fan. More comedy please George.

John Tuturro and Tim Blake Nelson ably assist, especially Nelson. If ever "The Simpsons" is made into a movie then he must be a natural to play Cletus the slack-jawed yokel. I don't think there is a performance that falls short of excellent from the entire cast. My special favorite is Stephen Root as the blind Radio Station Man.

Great old-timey music, a jiggy type dance by Clooney that I am trying to learn, and a feel of depression era southern US enhanced by sepia-like photography make this the best movie I've see so far this century. The only drawback to the film is that it has almost sent me broke buying the soundtrack, the DVD and a DVD player to play it on....it's THAT good!

One of the finest pieces of story telling ever to hit celluloid. The performances are so perfect and dead-on, and the nuances so subtle, that this movie defies description. It is no wonder that the reviews you read run the gamut from "piece of junk", to "superb" to just plain confused. This is a must-see movie, and from there you're on your own, you have to decide for yourself. Note, however, that this film follows its own course -- *loosely* based on Ulysses, and with its own symbolism, characters, and themes. To spot them all you will need to watch carefully, think constantly, and, in all likelihood, see the film many times more than once. Not to worry, it improves with each viewing.