"The Man Who Wasn't There" Slyly Skewers Film Noir

The Man Who Wasn't There is a darkly funny, subversive noir. Though it is a noir, its a film that doesn't quite read like a noir. The film looks like a noir, even at times talks like a noir, but it's a whole other beast. In the hands of the Coen brothers the film zigs where we expect it to zag. There are the twist and turns of a noir but the film seems to be mocking our very enthusiasm for so much of the tricks of the trade. There are plots that suddenly, abruptly end when they very well could have been the story for the entirety of the film's length.

But the film treats the twists, much like everything else, with a casual indifference. This is because we see the film from the perspective of Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton doing wonders being affectless), a bland man who can barely be motivated to speak three words at a time. He's in a loveless marriage with Doris (Francis McNormand). Through the marriage he's entered the family business of barbering, a trade that's described as being about as dull as Ed is.

The film is filtered through the extensive narration of Ed. We hear more from Ed in the narration than we do anywhere else. He's a quiet, matter of fact guy who feels like he stepped out of Albert Camus' The Stranger. He takes things as they come rarely conveying much emotion or sentiment. The great irony here being that everyone else is the world's biggest chatter box.

Terrible things occur throughout the film, but it moves past them with a shit happens sort of mentality. The film begins with Ed being won over by a fly-by-night con man (Jon Polito) claiming he needs an investment for a great new invention (dry cleaning!). Ed decides to get the money by blackmailing his wife's boss Big Dave (James Gandolfini), who he suspects is having an affair with Doris. And then things continue to maddeningly spiral out from there.

The cinematography for the film is gorgeous. It simultaneously captures the atmosphere from the noir films of the 30's and 40's and the drab, square 1950's American suburbia. Ed's world is as paint drying interesting as his personality and curt responses. His blandness is contrasted with just how interesting and exciting the plot ought to be. The Coen's refuse to give us total thrills, in stead providing us with something darker, funnier (fittingly, hilariously deadpan), more cynical, and probably far more interesting.

Grade: A-