At the movies: Coen brothers, Clooney film flops with critics
Critics are confused by the latest comedy brought to the screen by the Coen Brothers that opens this weekend in theaters.
George Clooney, who is normally known for his work as a leading man in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Ocean’s Eleven,” sits in the director’s chair for “Suburbicon.” Clooney’s previous directorial projects include “The Monuments Men” and “The Ides of March.”
In a peaceful suburban community ironically called Suburbicon, run-of-the-mill father and husband Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon, “The Bourne Identity” and “Good Will Hunting”) is confronted with the dark, twisted world intertwined with the oblivion of suburbia set in the 1950s.
Little has been released about the plot of the film, though a common premise is that Lodge sets off to eliminate mobsters in an effort to defend his family. Lodge encounters a myriad of personalities including Rose (Julianne Moore, “The Big Lebowski” and “Crazy, Stupid Love”), Roger (Oscar Isaac, “Ex Machina” and “Inside Llewyn Davis”) Ira Sloan (Glenn Fleshler, “True Detective” and “Billions”) June (Megan Ferguson, “Bad Moms” and “The Comedians”), Hightower (Jack Conley, “L.A. Confidential” and “Payback”) Uncle Mitch (Gary Basarba, “The Accountant” and “Fried Green Tomatoes”) and Stretch (Michael D. Cohen, “Whiplash” and “Henry Danger”).
According to the media review website, RottenTomatoes.com, 92 percent of users want to see “Suburbicon,” though to date it has only received a 41 percent rating. Users on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) have only given it 4.7 out of 10 stars.
The film received only one and a half stars in a review by Brian Tallerico for RogerEbert.com, with Tallerico calling it a “startling misfire” and a “tonal disaster from start to finish.”
“Other than when they movie appears to levitate for a brief period while Oscar Isaac is on-screen, the dull ‘Suburbicon’ lacks in witty dialogue, interesting characters, or even visual flourishes,” Tallerico wrote. “It is as flat as the well-manicured lawns in the idyllic neighborhood that gives it a name.”
Jordan Ruimy also noted the film’s similarities to prevous Coen brother’s movies in his review for World of Reel, stating “the film quickly spirals out of control into a farce of random occurrences.”
“Coincidentally these are all movies that have had the Coens in more playful moods rather than the dark starkness of their other better efforts,” Ruimy wrote, referring to “Hail, Caesar!,” “Burn After Reading” and “Intolerable Cruelty.” “However, Clooney seems to dig that style, which is why ‘Suburbicon’ has been made, based on a script, you guessed it, Joel and Ethan Coen.”
The film is rated R for violence, language and some sexuality.
Other movies that are arriving in theaters this weekend include:
n “Jigsaw” featuring Matt Passmore, “Tobin Bell,” Callum Keith Rennie and Hannah Emily Anderson, directed by Michael and Peter Spierig, is about a dead suspect known as Jigsaw in the grisly murders of several people.
The film is rated R.
n “Novitiate” featuring Margaret Qualley, Julianne Nicholson, Dianna Agron and Liana Liberato, directed by Margaret Betts, follows a woman who struggles with sexuality, faith and the changing church in the era of Vatican II.
The film is listed as R.