The Man Who Wasn't There

2001
R
1h 56m

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

117K

YOUR RATING

Frances McDormand, Billy Bob Thornton, and James Gandolfini in The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

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Crime Drama

A laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong.A laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong.A laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

117K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 25 wins & 43 nominations total

Trivia
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen came up with the story while working on The Hudsucker Proxy (1994). While filming the scene in the barbershop, the Coens saw a prop poster of 1940s haircuts and began developing a story about the barber who cut the hair in the poster.

Goofs
Birdy Abundas says that Ludwig van Beethoven "was deaf when he wrote this. [...] He never actually heard it", referring to his Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13, "Pathetique". When Beethoven composed this specific Sonata in 1798, he wasn't deaf. He already had some auditory troubles but he became totally deaf later, around 1815. During the very beginning of the 19th century he was still able to play public concerts and to hear the pieces he was composing.

Quotes
Reidenschneider: They got this guy, in Germany. Fritz Something-or-other. Or is it? Maybe it's Werner. Anyway, he's got this theory, you wanna test something, you know, scientifically - how the planets go round the sun, what sunspots are made of, why the water comes out of the tap - well, you gotta look at it. But sometimes you look at it, your looking changes it. Ya can't know the reality of what happened, or what would've happened if you hadn't-a stuck in your own goddamn schnozz. So there is no "what happened"? Not in any sense that we can grasp, with our puny minds. Because our minds... our minds get in the way. Looking at something changes it. They call it the "Uncertainty Principle". Sure, it sounds screwy, but even Einstein says the guy's on to something.

Crazy credits
The opening titles cast shadows on the wall as if they are real.

Alternate versions
Though original intended to be released in black and white, the movie was originally shot in color. Some countries released the movie in color (e.g. Japan) for marketing reasons. Both versions are released on home media.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: What's the Worst That Could Happen?/Pearl Harbor/The Anniversary Party/Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001)

Soundtracks
Piano Sonata No.8 in C minor, Op.13 (Pathetique)
(1799)
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

User reviews491

Review

Featured review

Great pastiche of the noir genre

Ed Crane is a barber who quietly wants more from his life. When he meets a man with a business proposition he decides to go for it. He suspects his wife is having an affair with her boss and anonymously blackmails him however things in noir are never straightforward and blackmail leads to murder and a series of events are sparked off around Ed.

I must say I'm surprised this is as high up the imdb charts as it is, but I'm not surprised by the lukewarm reception it had from multiplex audiences. This is a slow, moody homage where things just happen, rather than a neat `start-middle-tidy finish-bad guy dies' type thing. The Cohen brothers have a reputation for the old quirks and here is no different mixing the steady noir narration with talk of haircuts and bingo makes for a strange if humorous mix. The plot is good but the noir feel mixed with weird going-ons may alienate many audiences.

Thornton is a perfect choice his features fit well in the black and white shadows and his voice suits the noir narration. McDormand is good and Gandolfini gets another good role and does well. The support is very good Badalucco, Shalhoub, Polito are all very good. Some elements of it are like a spot the TV face we have Benrubi from ER, Higgins from Ally McBeal and Abundas from Six Feet Under all in small roles. It's even nice to see a cameo from McDonald.

Overall this isn't as funny as it was billed, simply because it is a noir. As such the Cohens mix the familiar themes of that genre with all new subjects and create a great effect.