Rating of
2.5/4
"Burn After Reading" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/10/12
Two gym employees try to blackmail an ex CIA agent in the mistaken belief that they have stumbled on some sensitive material and wackiness ensues. Burn After Reading I think was trying to recreate the marriage of witty comedy and bleak criminality of Fargo but somehow they don't sit together anything like as well here. The cast is exceptional, but every character is basically a self serving asshole with the possible exception of Brad Pitt, who is just an idiot. There are some funny lines and Clooney and Simmons are as great as always, as are they all really but it's not all THAT funny, and the plot is a little too aimless and random to fully engage. It's not a bad film by any means, but by the Coens' standards I found it a little disappointing.
