The Man Who Wasn't There

Released 2001
Stars Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, Michael Badalucco, Scarlett Johansson, Jon Polito, Tony Shalhoub, Katherine Borowitz
Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen

The Coen Brothers' ''The Man Who Wasn't There'' is shot in black-and-white so elegantly, it reminds us of a 1940s station wagon--chrome, wood, leather and steel all burnished to a contented glow. Its star performance by Billy Bob Thornton is a study in sad-eyed, mournful chain-smoking, the portrait of a man so trapped by life he wants to scream. The plot is one of those film noir twisters made of gin and adultery, where the right man is convicted of the wrong crime. The look, feel and ingenuity of this film are so lovingly modulated you wonder if anyone else could have done it better than the Coens.

Summary by Roger Ebert

This is the Coen Brothers' second film noir, and both films are outstanding. They're also very different. "The Man Who Wasn't There" is a leisurely drama that isn't really a thriller at all. It was printed in gorgeous black and white, although it was shot in color, and it's full of striking images. However, I didn't find the first forty-odd minutes very involving, which was probably due to the solemnity of the character of Ed Crane himself. Once the blackmail scheme went wrong, however, I became more involved. The plot of this movie wasn't as solid as Blood Simple, since it relied on two leaps of faith. In other words, two people were prosecuted for murder despite no physical evidence to support either case. It's not realistic, and it's not like the Coens to take shortcuts like that. Other than that, however, this is a really good film.

One of the things I liked the best was the sparse score. I looked at the listing, and I was surprised to see more than two songs. Other than the one played at the Nerdlinger party, I only remember Beethoven's Piano Sonata Number 8, which is played several times by Birdy. It's absolutely gorgeous, but it kept bugging me. I knew a piece of the melody from somewhere, but what was it? I finally had to pause the movie and hum the melody, and then it came to me. Two measures of that song were used in KISS' "Great Expectations" from their seminal "Destroyer" album. Man, that was bugging me. Anyway, the French piano teacher's analysis of Birdy's playing was right on the money. She played the notes flawlessly but without passion. The interesting thing is this is also how Ed Crane lived his life. He lived as if his life was a paint-by-numbers picture. He was married and had a house. He got up every day and went to his job even though he didn't like it. He "entertained" and accompanied his wife to social functions. He played all of the notes of life that he was supposed to, but he did so without passion or feeling of any kind. In other words, he lived his life the way Birdy played the piano--reluctantly. --Bill Alward, May 5, 2002