THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (***½)
Film Noir is a movie genre that involves lowly characters getting involved in diabolical situations in a smooth, calm, and sometimes sexy manner. They struggle to make decisions for their survival, usually with devastating consequences to the people they live with, and to themselves. Like EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS and Tim Burton's PLANET OF THE APES does with their kind, but to a much greater extent, THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE is a loving tribute to film noir. It not only celebrates its genus, it goes further, pushing the limits of what its genre is all about. It is also the best-looking black and white film I have ever seen.
The film revolves around the decisions and moments in Ed's (Billy Bob Thornton of SLING BLADE) life. Set in the 1940s, he is the ultimate film noir lead, a man who barely seems to matter in anyone's life. He cuts hair for a living, has a cynical but sexy wife named Doris (Frances McDormand of FARGO) who hardly notices him, and is scarcely recognized right away by members of the community. He is barely responsive when it comes to conversation and approaches every situation the same way, by smoking. He isn't socially incapable, but he doesn't feel the need to matter. Here is a man living a sad life, but who has accepted it on its terms.
One day after Ed's wife invites her boss Big Dave (James Gandolfini of HBO's THE SOPRANOS) over for dinner, he comes to the realization that she is cheating on him with Dave, but nevertheless seems resigned to her infidelity (practically the opposite reaction from Richard Gere's character in UNFAITHFUL). Out of a need for escape from routine, he becomes willing to invest his money in a dry-cleaning business (which sounds like a get-rich quick scam at the time) with a shady businessman named Creighton Tolliver (Jon Polito) from out of town. The initial investment costs $10,000 and Ed decides to get it by blackmailing Big Dave anonymously. But when Dave finds out who's been blackmailing him, the disastrous chain of events start to unfold.
In other film noirs, as each ruinous event comes tumbling down one after the other, there is usually a sense of dread and fear that is emanated. But here, there is almost no such dread (aside from a grisly murder scene). While watching the movie, I felt a strong sense of anticipation in the audience on each scene. The film's storyline is entirely absorbing. Though you can sense its complexities growing after each plot point, the movie never becomes confused. After everything has transpired, we still have a perfect understanding of what has just happened (we wouldn't want to narrate it to someone who would want to know though).
The film's clarity owes a lot to its pacing, which is deliberate and completely self-assured. I haven't seen a movie this confident in its own style since 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. You can almost hear the film's rhythm, its constancy and consistency. It never picks up the pace that much, but every scene seems unmissable. Some critics felt that it was too premeditated, waiting for the story to be released from its chains of assuredness. Some people want their movies to gain a life of their own, but I was too entranced with what I was seeing.
What adds to the movie's spellbinding qualities is its cinematography, which is a great credit to Roger Deakins (a favorite Coen collaborator), whose other visual masterpieces include A BEAUTIFUL MIND, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?, THE HURRICANE, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, KUNDUN, FARGO, ROB ROY, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE SECRET GARDEN, and THUNDERHEART. His work here deservedly got an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography (which it should have won in my mind), and was awarded the ASC Award at the USA American Society of Cinematographers for Outstanding Achievement. I cannot overstate the beauty of his work here. You will probably never see another black and white film with such visual depth, such texture, and richness. I have never seen so many shades of gray, and such crisp images. His visuals not only have a technical virtuosity, but also an artistic panache. Almost every scene could be put in a coffee table book on great black and white photography. This movie is a visual treasure.
Any movie that has Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, and Scarlett Johansson will be making sure that its audience will get its money's worth. All of them give rich, detailed, and memorable performances. But the movie is almost genetically tied to Billy Bob Thornton. After seeing MONSTER'S BALL a few months ago, and now this, his non-nomination at the Academy Awards is almost a travesty. His performance isn't as intense as Denzel Washington in TRAINING DAY, or as moving as Russell Crowe in A BEAUTIFUL MIND, but there has been no performance in the last year as hypnotic. His quiet chain-smoking blank-staring, sad-eyed persona is totally captivating. And his narrative musings as the movie's events go buy are like spells forcing us to focus on the story at hand. This is one of the most wonderful displays of serenity and subtlety I have seen since Anthony Hopkins' performance in THE REMAINS OF THE DAY. He even reminds you of Humphrey Bogart in CASABLANCA, and in this movie he probably smokes more. I was beginning to wonder if he was going to survive of lung cancer before the movie ended.
Though I have never been through such an experience, watching THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE can probably be compared to being hypnotized. After leaving the theatre, I felt as I had just been mesmerized, coming out of another dimension and state of mind. Few films have left me dazed and transfixed as this one has. If you won't enjoy its forced pace, you'll definitely enjoy its approach. Too see it in the theatre is one of the most enjoyable moviegoing experiences I've had in a long time.
Posted by FLIPCRITIC at August 12, 2002 12:00 AM