Deakins stylized sense hyper reality bathed in gold looks gorgeous, while the slightly wide-angle lenses that the Coens favour ensure extra depth to pop on Blu. Predictably, Hail, Caesar! looks absolutely beautiful in HD. Maybe the Coens will let us in next time and maybe not. The audience was just invited along to the party this time. The fact that the Coens and their entire cast and crew visibly had so much fun making their film about filmmaking was probably the point of the whole endeavour. More than anything else, Hail, Caesar! feels like a love letter to the very act of making movies and all of the insane characters and bizarre diversions it takes to make that happen. It’s goofy and confusing and dramatic and funny and silly and not entirely satisfying, but at least interesting. The visuals are frequently astounding, with Roger Deakins riffing on a variety of old timey studio styles as well as his own vaguely cartoonish design of the Coen-verse. The performances are arch, but clearly in a way that makes the actors giggle off camera. Like oh-so many Coen Brothers’ joints, there’s an element of detective yarn (mostly as an excuse to provide propelling mystery to drive the narrative and get away without wrapping up every thread as a stylistic choice) and an element of screwball comedy. So, it’s a big old goofy tapestry set on the studio backlot. That’s a whole bunch of plates for Mannix to spin, get ready for some wacky diversions!
#Roger deakins hail caesar movie#
On top of that, Mannix has a musical starlet (Scarlett Johansson) with a baby in her belly and no proper husband, the prim British director (Ralph Fiennes) of a socialiette comedy starts feuding with his assigned Western star (Alden Ehrenreich, not a star when the movie was released but soon to be one now that he’s Han Solo), twin gossip columnists (both played by Tilda Swinton) start asking awkward questions, and a dapper young song n’ dance man (Channing Tatum) appears to have some secrets. Then things get rough once that movie’s idiotic star (George Clooney, naturally) is kidnapped by a gang of communist screenwriters demanding ransom. It’s starts innocently enough, checking in with a few religious representatives from various churches on whether or not the studio’s new biblical epic is treating the lord A-OK. Mannix begins his day in confession agonizing over a few cigarettes before diving into the day’s troubles at the studio. This Mannix works for Capital Pictures, the same studio who employed Barton Fink the last time the Coen’s goofed on La-la-land.
There was a real Eddie Mannix who kept movie stars out of gossip rags for MGM, but this isn’t him. The film is about a studio fixer named Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin). Sometimes it feels like they do it just to read the thinkpieces and giggle themselves silly before writing their next movie that actually has a deeper meaning (or not).
After all, there are few filmmakers out there who seem to enjoy forcing critics into deep analysis of movies to find meanings that aren’t there as much as the Coens.
It feels like a lark, but with the Coens being the Coens that lark is layered with hints at profound hidden meanings that may or may not be there. It’s not just a snide mockery of Hollywood insanity, but an opportunity to stage and gently parody a variety of old Hollywood forms and genres, while also bringing all of their most famous friends along for the ride. However, it’s clearly the product of two directing titans having fun at Hollywood’s expense. That’s true even of their minor efforts like Hail, Caesar! It’s hardly the genius sibling filmmakers greatest work, even in recent years.
Every time a new Coen Brother movie arrives, it qualifies as an event for cinephiles.
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