The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

Director: Joel Coen

Story: Joel and Ethan Coen

Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand

Music: Carter Burwell

Time: 116 minutes

Bottom-line: Along the lines of a David Lynch film, but well-made

If it had not been for the opening credits, I would have certainly thought that this was a David Lynch film. Starring Billy Bob Thornton and Frances McDormand (yet another collaboration with the Coens) in the lead roles, with James Gandolfini, Jon Polito, Tony Shalhoub and Scarlett Johansson in the supporting cast, the neo-noir is the sad tale of how a chain reaction of blackmail and trickery destroy a man and his wife.

 

McDormand as Doris, and Thornton
as Ed

1949, California: Ed Crane (Thornton) is a low-key barber (and the narrator), who works with his brother, Frank. Ed’s wife, Doris (McDormand) is a bookkeeper with a drinking problem. Ed suspects – and correctly guesses – that Doris is having an affair with her boss, Dave (Gandolfini). One day, a businessman, Tolliver (Polito) meets Ed and proposes a new idea: dry-cleaning. He says he will take care of the entrepreneurship, and will split the profit 50-50 with Ed, if he agrees to be an investor and lend $10000 for the purpose. Intrigued by this, Ed decides to blackmail Dave about the affair, to get the money, and Dave embezzles the money from his store. Dave eventually realises that Ed is behind this, and he confronts Ed, saying he has beat-up Tolliver, who talked. Ed stabs Dave to death, but the blame is put on Doris, who is arrested. Ed and his brother spend a fortune to hire an expensive lawyer, Freddy, (Shalhoub) to defend Doris. Tortured by guilt and financial problems, how long can Ed bear the burden?

 

Gandolfini as Dave

The fact that the firm is in black-and-white makes it all the more noir-ish, to highlight that everyone is a “grey” character. The story shows how everyone who commits a crime will be punished in one way or the other – the unfaithful wife, the cheating businessman, the lying boss, and the blackmailer. Ed’s character often repeats the fact that he is “just” a barber, implying that he is an everyman, a nobody. But again, fate has a cruel way of giving one his own medicine. The film is a long road of gradual and total destruction of two people’s lives. The ending suddenly becomes a bit weird, with a lot of philosophical stuff to ponder over, but this is a “cleaner” climax compared to the other open-ended ones of the Coens’ films.

 

Polito as Tolliver

Billy Bob Thornton has a constant glum expression throughout the film, but I guess that’s how his character is designed (as I said, Ed’s character is “just” a barber; he admits that he rarely talks, while his brother is the opposite). Constantly in doubt between right and wrong, troubled by guilt and slowly running out of options, seeing the fate of his character is quite depressing. Frances McDormand and Gandolfini’s roles are also good. I found the scenes where Ed, Doris and Freddy plan out their case some of the best parts of the film – husband and wife not willing to admit their crimes, and Freddy desperate to save his reputation by finding out loopholes in the case that can get Doris out. There is one part where Ed even admits that he committed the crime, but Freddie thinks it’s his idea to get himself arrested instead of Doris, and rejects it! The tension in the atmosphere is extreme, and the brilliant cinematography - with that eerie visual of sunlight entering through the grilled window - highlights it!

Shalhoub as Freddie

The plot twists, the interplay of fate in the tales of the characters, the acting and the cinematography are the highlights of The Man Who Wasn’t There. It might not be a satisfying climax – given the depressing tone of the entire film – and it is a disturbing watch, but it is worth it.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 81%