Joel and Ethan Coens' The Man Who Wasn't There doesn't (how could it) top their first film-noir classic Blood Simple, but it is still an incredibly stylish and acted with pizazz type of film which should definitely get better with multiple viewings. Billy Bob Thornton turns in another top shelve job (geniusly subtle, even for him) as a quiet and observant barber named Ed, who gets drawn into an unfortunate string of events with his wife (Frances McDormand) who has cheated on him with Big Dave (James Gandolfini who in his scattered minutes on the screen shows his ability for Oscar nomination-type work) and with the usual line of events that would come from a noir comes compelling characters and set-pieces that show's Ed in a downfall though it is from a life the never wanted to lead in the first place. If Sartre decided to throw out the politics and religion and stick to the being and nothingness and write a hard-boiled novel, this might be it.

In short, the Coen Brothers have once again struck a little gem in the rough, shot in black and white and stylized to a T. I feel like picking up a Cain book after watching this. And, on top of this, on repeat viewings I can say that it becomes even more engrossing, and just a bit more entertaining if really ready to dig into the atmosphere. It may be thick enough to kill a few stray kittens, but it's got a genuine pathos to it too. And just when you think there isn't enough Coen strangeness, wait till the aliens arrive. A+

This is one of the strangest films I have recently seen and it's not much of a surprise considering it's brought to us by the Coen Brothers--famous for some of the quirkiest plots in history. Like Raising Arizona, The Hudsucker Proxy and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, this is a weird but ultimately enjoyable film with lots of crazy twists and turns. While I appreciate this type of film, I should point out that some Coen Brother films take turns that are just too weird or fall flat--the prime example being Barton Fink. I should also say that MANY viewers simply won't like or appreciate the strange twists, so I would think reviews for any of these movies would be extreme (either you hate the films or you love 'em).

Billy Bob Thornton plays the lead like he is a bit of a zombie, but I assume that is how he was supposed to play it. He's a barber married to a wife who is cheating on him with her boss. Billy Bob hears about a scheme to make money but needs startup money, so he decides to blackmail his wife's lover by sending an anonymous threatening note--pay $10,000 or we'll expose your affair. All this happens in the just the first 1/4 of the film. Where the plot goes next and the MANY odd little diversions I'll leave for you the viewer to find out BUT I will say that there are many plot twists, quirky performances and a subplot involving aliens--all placed in a black and white photographed world that looks like it's from an old Film Noir flick. Perhaps, at times, there are a few too many twists and the movie could have easily eliminated a few of these subplots, but this is a minor quibble.

A final note: If you watch the Coen Brothers' film INTOLERABLE CRUELTY, you'll see Billy Bob do a character who is almost 180 degrees opposite the one he plays here. I really think this was a great inside joke and is worth a look!

The Man Who Wasn't There is the Coen Brothers homage to that great novel by James M. Cain and the film made from it, The Postman Always Rings Twice. A homage mind you with a considerable influence from their Oscar winning Fargo.

I loved the cinematography in black and white done deliberately I think to show the drabness in these rather ordinary people's lives. With one exception these are most ordinary folks.

Billy Bob Thornton is the most ordinary of the lot. He's a barber, a guy you probably don't think too much about when you're not getting a haircut. For a barber he's a quiet sort of guy, not at all like the one he shares the barbershop with, Michael Badalucco, who's like most barbers I've ever come across, can make with a non-stop stream of small talk just to make your's and his time pass.

Thornton's not talking because he's got a lot on his mind. His wife, Frances McDormand, is having an affair with her boss, James Gandolfini who is married to the heiress of the town's department store, Katherine Borwitz. McDormand does the books for the department store.

Into the barbershop one day comes Jon Polito who's obviously a con man, obvious to everyone, but Thornton. Polito is trying to interest someone, anyone in some get rich quick scheme. In fact he tried to interest Gandolfini who wouldn't give him the time of day.

Like Fargo's luckless Bill Macy, Thornton hatches a wild scheme to get $10,000.00 to invest with Polito by blackmailing Gandolfini and making him think it was Polito doing the blackmail. And like Fargo it ends with a few people dying before the film is over.

The Man Who Wasn't There got one Oscar nomination for cinematography, I think it should have gotten some more. The Coen brothers expanded considerably on some of the themes raised in Fargo and Joel Coen as director got pluperfect performances from his cast.

I said before that there was one non-ordinary character brought into this film. That would be criminal defense attorney Tony Shalhoub who's hired to defend one cast member here. For those of you who know him primarily for Monk, this is quite a different Shalhoub. Give him credit for not wanting to be typecast as Adrian Monk.

Jon Polito's character is gay and he's by no means is he any kind of a good human being. He's a stereotypically gay person as would have been seen by most people in the homophobic world of 1949 when this film is set. He is one of the characters who dies in this film and the authorities don't get it right. Polito more than likely died due to homophobia back then, than for the reason they think he was killed.

This is film is a worthy followup to Fargo, in some ways better than Fargo. As for how it all turns out, that's where the Coen brothers homage to The Postman Always Rings Twice comes in.