neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The Man Who Wasn't There
	Joel Coen Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, Tony Shalhoub 2000		Writing/directing/producing brothers Joel and Ethan Coen first made noise in the film biz by updating the conventions of film noir in the brutal, fraught-with-betrayal crime thriller, "Blood Simple." Over a decade and numerous devilishly clever movies later, they're back to noir with a cunning black & white homage set in 1949. They don't update the genre so much as knowingly toy with it. Disgruntled small-town barber Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) is trapped in a loveless marriage with a two-timing wife (Frances McDormand of "Fargo"). She's screwing her boss (James Gandolfini of TV's "The Sopranos"), a braggart who married into an executive position at Nirdlinger's department store. Crane is fed up with cutting hair and is resigned to the fact that his wife is cheating on him. When a shady businessman proposes that Crane invest $10,000 in a chain of dry cleaners, the barber decides to take a chance. Blackmail and murder, anyone? With Tony Shalhoub, brilliantly funny as a hotshot lawyer.