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The Man Who Wasn’t There is classic film noir
whose black and white cinematography really is the best part about
it.
The Man Who Wasn’t There is about Ed (Billy Bob
Thornton) who is unhappy with his wife (Francis McDormand) and
basically with his life as a whole. He soon discovers his wife
is having an affair and secretly blackmails her lover so he can
help a stranger start a dry cleaning business. This causes some
problems which lead to bigger problems until Ed finds himself
with nowhere to turn. The story is fairly dry actually and as
strange as can be expected from the Coen Brothers.
Billy Bob Thornton is great as Ed, who is always fun to watch,
even when he’s not doing anything – which is most
of the time. Ed is a very quiet, laid back character who smokes
more than The X-Files’ Cancer Man. For some strange reason,
however, he’s interesting to watch, even when he’s
not doing anything – which, I say again, is most of the
time.
The one real reason to see The Man Who Wasn’t There
is the picture. Always crisp and beautiful, you’ve never
seen black and white like this before. It’s fantastically
lit and every scene shows intensive precision and care. Every
frame is like a really well taken black and white photograph.
These guys know their photography.
The Man Who Wasn’t There really makes you wonder
why black and white isn’t used more often. Maybe it will
be now – after people have seen this one.
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