The Long Dark Marathon of the Soul 2017 - Raising Arizona (1987), directed by Joel Coen

The Trailer
and
The Appropriate Tune: "Way Out There", by Carter Burwell

     One of the first movies that really dug itself into my soul as a budding movie fan, beyond that Tim Burton obsession way back, was a Coen Brothers movie. 1998’s The Big Lebowski to be precise, a Raymond Chandler-esque mystery story that traded the Golden Age of Hollywood in all its dirt and grime with the burnt-out, post-modern apathy of the early 90s. I was stuck with Comedy Central’s ‘edited for TV’, which was a hackjob if ever I saw one, with entire subplots and scenes removed, but even through the butchery I was able to catch enough of the magic to make me fall in love with their work from then on. With the Coens, they’re never just telling a story with their films, they’re crafting their own little worlds that slowly reveal themselves to you as intricately crafted webs of actions, consequences and so on. Worlds that are full of losers, assholes, and otherwise terrible people, but people who show a level of emotional depth and complexity that you wouldn’t expect. While maybe not as rabidly popular as Quentin Tarantino, the Coen Brothers have reached that same level of critical and commercial acclaim that some directors can only glimpse at during their careers. Well, except for The Ladykillers.

     Have I blown enough smoke up their asses yet?

     Despite my love for the Coens, they’ve never actually appeared on any of the previous Marathons. In fact I’ve only ever reviewed one film of theirs on the blog, the illustrious Fargo (now an illustrious television series), a couple years back. Since then I’ve had a disturbing lack of Coens in my life, and it’s about damn time that we rectified that situation. Of course the Coens don’t generally deal in the Halloweenish films genres, but that’s never stopped us before, has it?

     H.I. McDunnough is what you might call a ‘recidivist’. He’s not a bad guy per se, he’s never intentionally hurt anyone and he rarely says an unkind word, but he just can’t stop himself from committing crime and getting his ass thrown in jail. Not that it doesn’t have its advantages; It’s during the processing for his various crimes that he meets Edwina (she’s the one that takes his mugshots), and the two fall in love and eventually get married. Life is good, at least until the question of children is brought up, and it is revealed that Edwina is incapable of getting pregnant. Adoption is out as well, because of H.I.’s criminal record, so it seems like they’re out of luck. Well, they could try just...taking a baby. Like that rich guy Nathan Arizona, he’s just had five kids at the same time! There’s no way he and his wife can take care of all of them the way they need. If H.I. and Ed were to, say, take one of the babies, no one would care right? H.I. and Ed get a child of their own, Arizona has one less kid to deal with, everybody wins! Right?

     Raising Arizona is definitely a weird one. It’s got all the parts of a Coen Brothers movie: Loser protagonists, spoonfuls of philosophy, interesting music (ladies love yodeling), Frances McDormand and John Goodman, everything you need for an amazing film. However, I don’t think I’ve seen a movie by the Coens that was so goofy. Gallows humor isn’t a stranger to Coen films, and they’ll even exaggerate things from time to time, but Raising Arizona is downright cartoonish. The design of the Arizona Quints bedroom, which has a crib that feels like it should be housing Popeye’s nephew rather than actual babies, the entire ‘left the baby at the store’ scene, it gets into downright wacky territory. These are the guys who reimagined the Odyssey in the Depression-era American South, and we’re getting material that wouldn’t have seemed out of place in one of the Home Alone movies. If you’ve got certain expectation of what their films should be like, it’s possible this might feel more on the level of My Name Is Earl rather than Fargo, for better or worse. Earl and H.I. are bother Southern gentleman with mustaches and wild hair who have a criminal history and are trying to do right by others.

     Silly though it may be, I find Raising Arizona to be an incredibly endearing film. Maybe it’s because I’ve had a baby/child in my life for a couple years now that H.I.’s growing fear of the pressures of responsibility and the world devolving in greater and greater levels of chaos with the inclusion of a baby seems all too familiar. However Raising Arizona is right in the sense that a baby is a source of joy as well as hardship, and seeing this gaggle of irresponsible fuckups falling under the baby spell is great fun. It’s crazy and surreal because bringing a life into the world and subsequently being everything to that life is a crazy and surreal thing. It really alters your way of thinking about the world.

     Surprising as it may be, Nicholas Cage puts in fantastic work here as H.I. McDunnough. I know the common opinion of Cage, formed from films like The Wicker Man and Ghost Rider, is that he’s a ‘so bad it’s good’ kind of performer, but honestly I think he fits in perfectly alongside Frances McDormand, John Goodman and Holly Hunter (haven’t heard from her since Crash). Softspoken, more literate than you’d expect, Cage embodies the look of a man consistently beyond his depth every single day. Yet another thing that I totally identify with, by the way.

     Recommending a Coen Brothers movie isn’t exactly a hard thing to do, but if you’ve never had a chance to and you’re wanting to try it out, then this is a good way to start. If you’re a fan of weird 80s comedies like Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure or Heathers then you’ll be in a pretty good spot. Your opinions on having kids might not change, but at least you’ll have a good time this Halloween.

Fargo, (1996), directed by Joel & Ethan Coen

     A flash of creativity inspired this new little post. I can't say that this is the start of a whole new era of film blogging, but at least it exists.

The Trailer
and
The Appropriate Tune: "The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A.", by Donna Fargo

     I believe I mentioned the subject of ‘favorite directors’ once before in this oft-neglected, oft-ignored series of poorly written film reviews. It was in the write-up for Jabberwocky if memory serves, directed by former Pythonite Terry Gilliam, the man behind several Thunderbird-approved films: The Orwellian black comedy known as Brazil, the insane adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, and time-traveling action flick 12 Monkeys (the first Bruce Willis time-travel action flick, by the way, back in the day when you had Die Hard and Pulp Fiction to counteract the Hudson Hawk and Bruno). On the whole yeah, I’d say that Gilliam is one of my favorite directors. I haven’t seen his entire filmography (blame laziness or depression or whatever), but everything I have seen of his so far I have enjoyed, and I’m optimistic about his as-of-yet unreleased Zero Theorem, if only for the spin on science-fiction that no one else is tackling in Hollywood.

     The same can be said for the folks behind this particular entry, Joel and Ethan Coen, sibling writers/directors/producers extraordinaire. Once again, while I haven’t seen all of the films that the Coens have been involved with, I can’t say I’ve seen one yet that I’ve haven’t loved. In fact, 1998’s The Big Lebowski has occupied a spot on my Top 10 Movies list for years, ever since watching the horribly butchered version on Comedy Central (this is also where I saw Ghostbusters 2 before Ghostbusters, because somebody doesn’t know how to run a TV station). While Gilliam might be considered a cult or a niche director, as far as millionare filmmakers go, the Coen Bros. have too many awards and accolades to be anything other than Hollywood mainstays at this point. The Ladykillers might be their only recent fumble that I can think of, and even that was 7 years ago. Other than that though, it’s a track record not many in their generation can compete with. So instead of making an effort to be topical by checking out the currently recent Inside Llewellyn Davis, I’ve decided to go back and look at a film oft-regarded as one of their best. We’re heading to the frozen North ladies and gents, to a little town named Fargo.

     Supposedly based on real life events, the story of Fargo is a typical Coen Bros. plot. Things start off simply enough, then quickly snowball into mystery, intrigue and deception. It all begins with Jerry Lundegard (William H. Macy) walking into a Minnesota bar in the winter of 1987 (or maybe it was summer, you never can tell with those states). Jerry, by all appearances a nice guy, is there to meet with two rather seedy looking gentlemen, venomous shit-talker Carl (Steve Buscemi at his most weasley) and the silent Scandinavian Gaere (Peter Stormare) for a clandestine meeting. Mr. Lundegard is a man looking for wealth and respect you see, chiefly that of his wealthy father-in-law Wade, who is not that impressed by Jerry’s fatherly lifestyle and car salesman career. Eager to grab a piece of the money pie for himself and stick it to Big Poppa, Jerry has hatched upon a plan to hire Carl & Gaere to kidnap his own wife and hold her for ransom, with the intention of splitting the hefty ransom between the three of them and impress Wade with his Colt 45 handling of the whole situation. It’d be a fool proof plan, if only everyone involved weren’t vain, greedy and ultimately doomed by their own ineptitude.

     Lo and behold, the plan goes spectacularly awry. The wife is kidnapped, but the problems that occur in the process push Carl to demand the entire ransom for him and Gaere. Wade, completely uninterested in having Jerry handling his money and daughter, decides to take matters into his own hands and totally fucks up that formerly foolproof plan. As everything starts to unravel, it’s actually Margie (Francis McDormand), the homespun, very pregnant police officer that starts to piece everything together that threatens to destroy Jerry’s scheme once and for all. And so on as movies are wont to do.

     The Coens are undoubtedly fantastic characterization, it just might be their strongest points as filmmakers, and Fargo is no exception. Every character feels unique, the world they inhabit feels vibrant and alive, yet they are also very real if that makes sense. Of course I’ve never been to that part of the country, and the ‘folky Midwesterner’ stereotype might not be all that appreciated over there, but it’s an easy way to give the setting a familiar-but-alien flavour. The endlessly flat snow white plains might also have something to do with it.

     Whether or not Fargo is actually based on true events might be a matter of debate, but the fact that it’s just weird enough to be believable really helps establish the reality of the world. Sure, a car salesman hiring guys to kidnap his wife while a pregnant cop investigates may seem bizarre, but it isn’t any less implausible than whatever happens in Florida on any given week. In fact it may be even more believable than today’s news, which is a horrifying thought.

     Fargo is a great crime thriller in the body of a particularly black comedy. Not an unfamiliar topic for the Coen Bros., but when they do it so well you can’t help but be impressed. If you’re interested at all in their filmography, this is as good a starting point as you’re likely to get. Chalk up another (past) success for Joel & Ethan, and if you’re visiting North Dakota, make sure you’re packing heat. You never know what kinda psychos are out there.

Result: Recommended