Burn After Reading Review

After the bleak oppressiveness of their award-winning "No Country for Old Men", the Coen brothers return with comedy thriller "Burn After Reading", a film they have described as a collision between 'the Central Intelligence Agency and the world of physical fitness'. On this occasion, the multi-talented auteurs attempt to weave satire, screwball comedy and sex farce into a satisfying whole, but the final product is simply a muddled but intermittently amusing episode of frothy escapism.

The film opens with Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) being forced out of his role as an analyst for the CIA and returning home to seek solace in drinking and attempting to write his memoirs. Not only has Cox lost his job, but his wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) is engaged in an affair with George Clooney's Harry Pfarrer, a married federal marshal. Across town at Hardbodies Fitness Centre, personal trainer Chad (Brad Pitt) and his lonely colleague Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) stumble upon a disc containing excerpts of the aforementioned memoirs and mistake it for valuable information. In an attempt to take advantage of their perceived good fortune, the duo embark upon a deadly game of blackmail and set in motion a bizarre chain of events.

The cast list here is an embarrassment of riches and thankfully these talented performers are able to elevate the lightweight material. Clooney is a riot as the grubby philanderer whilst it is great to see Pitt play a character of such undiluted idiocy. Malkovich excels in a role tailor-made for his unique brand of rage and there is solid support from Coen stalwarts Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins. JK Simmons is also on hand as a bewildered CIA superior and voices the confusion of the audience in several genuinely hilarious exchanges. However, although many of the classic Coen hallmarks are present and correct here, "Burn After Reading" still adds up to significantly less than the sum of its parts. We are not talking about a misstep on a par with "The Ladykillers", but after a promising opening, the rich vein of dark humour is slowly bled dry as the farcical contrivances of the plot run out of steam.

An easy film to enjoy, but a hard one to love.