Been absent for awhile. Grad school and all. But it's summer now. I'm going to try to get through my backlog of movies to review, and then I'll try to get to some different kinds of content. I don't know how in depth these reviews will be but I'd like to take a crack at them so bear with me.
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The film boasts an impressive cast, but don't be fooled by that or the marketing: Hail, Caesar is hardly an ensemble film, and is carried mostly by Brolin, Clooney, and Ehrenreich. Everyone else is either in a supporting role, with some in the film for little more than a few minutes. If you've happened to see the trailers, you've essentially seen the extent of Scarlett Johannsson and Jonah Hill's roles, for example. That is not to say there aren't highlights: Channing Tatum puts on his best Gene Kelly and delights in a cheeky but impressive dance routine, and Swinton is riotous, though woefully underutilized, as hawkish twin gossip columnists. As for the leads, Alden Ehrenreich, now readying for mainstream stardom as a young Han Solo, puts on the best show as the earnest, down-home, singing cowboy Hobie Doyle. Clooney, while certainly putting in the effort as the bumbling Whitlock, is largely subservient to the need for a plot. Brolin carries the film well as Eddie Mannix, but I often found myself wishing less screen time was devoted to him and more to the largely sidelined but far more amusing supporting cast.
The script itself is somewhat confounding. The plot is somewhat middling, playing more like a vehicle to jump from one 50s Hollywood joke/homage to the next than an assertive story able to hold its own. But at the same time it feels as too much of the film gives over to the mediocre plot, allowing for far fewer of the sketch-comedy-esque scenes and charming performance numbers that make for the films best moments. While there is certainly a lot to like, the foundation the script lays is anything but solid.
Those hoping that film is at least thematically satisfying may be found wanting as well. The Coen's do play with themes of God, religion, ideology, and the place and role of entertainment, much of the film's thematizing varies between heavy handed and under-explored. As a commentary on Classic Hollywood studio filmmaking, it's hard to say if the film is more of a satire or a tribute. It might be best to say that it seems as if it tries to be both and has difficulty being either. For what it's worth, the Coen's still do demonstrate their talents as visual artists; in particular I found their use of staging and color to be particularly appealing.
As it is, Hail, Caesar is a sometimes amusing but often lacking offering from the Coen brothers. Devotees of their filmography will likely have plenty to appreciate, and anyone impressed by Channing Tatum's skills as a dancer should seek out his scene at least. Others may not be so inclined to care for the film as anything beyond an amusing novelty in a career populated by much better films.
Hail, Caesar premiered in theaters on February 5, 2016, and is now available on Blu-Ray, DVD, and streaming.
