“Never point a gun at anyone, unless you mean to shoot him. And if you shoot him, you better make sure he's dead. Because if he ain't dead, he's gonna get up and try to kill you. That's the only thing they taught us in the service that's worth a god damn.”
It’s basically a comedy of errors without the comedy. You’re constantly thinking about who knows what when. Having characters with different amounts of information and often false information builds incredible tension every time two characters meet, because you have to piece together what they do and don’t know.
The script is perfectly complimented by Joel’s directing, which is independently impressive, especially given the lengthy and gripping silent scene in the middle. They feel wise beyond their years, (like young Spielberg) understanding pacing and suspense in ways many directors take their entire careers to come to grips with, if ever.
I’m always fascinated when a directorial debut contains all the style and themes you see throughout a directors work. Edgar Wright with Sean of the Dead and Miyazaki with Castle in the Sky are on this side of the spectrum, while someone like Wes Anderson with Bottle Rocket are on the other as he took a long time to hone his signature style.
If the Coen Bros are co-MVPs, then I need to give a shoutout to M Emmet Walsh, who this award would otherwise go to. My god, he was not on my radar and he blew me away!! At first you think he’s just the idiot PI then he turns out to be a step ahead of everyone else.
I didn’t think this had a chance at breaking into the upper echelons of Coen brothers for me, but it’s super high up there. What a fantastic movie and even more impressive given their inexperience and budgetary restrictions.
“Never point a gun at anyone, unless you mean to shoot him. And if you shoot him, you better make sure he's dead. Because if he ain't dead, he's gonna get up and try to kill you. That's the only thing they taught us in the service that's worth a god damn.”
It’s basically a comedy of errors without the comedy. You’re constantly thinking about who knows what when. Having characters with different amounts of information and often false information builds incredible tension every time two characters meet, because you have to piece together what they do and don’t know.
The script is perfectly complimented by Joel’s directing, which is independently impressive, especially given the lengthy and gripping silent scene in the middle. They feel wise beyond their years, (like young Spielberg) understanding pacing and suspense in ways many directors take their entire careers to come to grips with, if ever.
I’m always fascinated when a directorial debut contains all the style and themes you see throughout a directors work. Edgar Wright with Sean of the Dead and Miyazaki with Castle in the Sky are on this side of the spectrum, while someone like Wes Anderson with Bottle Rocket are on the other as he took a long time to hone his signature style.
If the Coen Bros are co-MVPs, then I need to give a shoutout to M Emmet Walsh, who this award would otherwise go to. My god, he was not on my radar and he blew me away!! At first you think he’s just the idiot PI then he turns out to be a step ahead of everyone else.
I didn’t think this had a chance at breaking into the upper echelons of Coen brothers for me, but it’s super high up there. What a fantastic movie and even more impressive given their inexperience and budgetary restrictions.
