Year of Release: 2003
Director: Joel & Ethan Coen
Starring: George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Geoffrey Rush, Billy Bob Thornton, Edward Herrmann, Paul Adelstein, Cedric the Entertainer, Richard Jenkins, Julia Duffy, Jonathan Hadary, Tom Aldredge, Stacey Travis, Jack Kyle
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review:
Following the stylistic "The Man Who Wasn't There", the Coen brothers returned with a detour to lighthearted comedy, something that they previously did so well with "Raising Arizona", "O Brother Where Art Thou?", "The Big Lebowski", and less so successfully on "The Hudsucker Proxy". The film focuses on the story of two characters: one of them being Miles Massey, a well known divorce attorney, one who always wins, and has even devised a pre-nuptial agreement, which is considered iron clad. The other central character is Marylin Rexroth, currently married to a very wealthy man, who likes to fool around. Following a particularly tryst, Marilyn pushes for divorce, in the hopes of getting half of her husband's fortune, however Miles manages to portray her as a shrewd and conniving con artist, looking for nothing but her money's husband since the beginning, and manages to defeat her intents. As the story unfolds, Marilyn then finds someone else, in the guise of a rich oilman, whom she intends to marry, and she hires Miles to provide the Massey Pre-Nup as a proof of her genuine love (and no hidden agenda to it). Miles who is increasingly falling in love with Marilyn agrees to it, even going to the wedding. A few months later, Marilyn has divorced her oil tycoon, and is apparently living well off, and comes across Miles in Las Vegas, where he's about to be the main lecturer. As their attraction continues, they end up getting married, with Miles failing to sign the pre-nup, which exposes him to whatever Marilyn's intentions are.
"Intolerable Cruelty" has a slickness to it which is undeniable, since this is after all a Coen brothers film, and therefore the level of polish and sophistication is expected. However where the film does lack and fails to arrest attention, is precisely on its timing, on the lack of a biting satire, something that Billy Wilder would have elevated to bigger heights. It's a perfectly placid film, with some elements of absurd and humor, but overall, it's a predictable endeavor, populated with very handsome people, but where there isn't enough charisma to make it more memorable. The supporting cast for the most part, tries to brighten up the narrative, with Edward Herrmann, Geoffrey Rush and Billy Bob Thornton deftly bringing some sparks of color to this somewhat dour painting. The central duo engage in this manicured battle of seduction, and while George Clooney allows for some absurdity and fear to manifest through the cracks of Miles, Catherine Zeta-Jones is for the most part very aloof and fails to provide any personality to Marilyn. It's a film that feels under-developed, where characters are rendered very uniformly, and even the attempts at screwball type of humor, just don't hit the mark. What's left is pretty much a glamorous and well done film with no soul or substance. The cinematography from Roger Deakins is as always impeccable, as is the score from Carter Burwell. Forgettable.
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