by Haley Mitchell, online & photography editor
Overrun with the biggest names in the industry and dripping with classic Coen Brothers’ attitude, “Hail, Caesar!” has set the bar even higher for Hollywood’s unique brand of self-deprecating comedy.
Josh Brolin stars as Eddie Mannix, Capitol Pictures’ “fixer” in the 1950s film industry. Mannix does the hard job of keeping everyone associated with the studio out of trouble and out of tabloids—a difficult task when he’s dealing with Baird Whitlock’s (George Clooney) womanizing reputation, DeAnna Moran’s (Scarlett Johansson)’s unprofessional lack of a baby daddy, Hobie Doyle’s (Alden Ehrenreich) rough transition from Westerns to dramas and more. Following the disappearance of the studio’s biggest star on the brink of what’s set to be the biggest box office hit of the year, it’s up to Mannix to retrieve Baird Whitlock from the grasp of disgruntled communist writers while keeping his absence under wraps.
The colorful cast, all not-so-subtle nods to historically significant counterparts, add vivacity and comedy to the initially slow-paced film, which takes place over a period of only twenty seven hours. Characterized through their amazingly limited skill set, each character has a pro and a con, a strong suit and a flaw. Baird Whitlock is a great actor, but his malleability proves to make him an easy target for his smooth-talking kidnappers, and Burt Gurney (Channing Tatum), while fresh-faced and innocent on screen, turns out to harbor dark secrets. The only character that doesn’t come with a warning label is Mannix himself, making him successes in the grand scheme of Hollywood, while thrilling, not hard to anticipate.
Although Hail, Caesar! sadly had the smallest grossing opening of any Coen brothers film—earning a meager $11.4 million its first weekend—the film goes above and beyond the costuming and scripting necessary to give it a simple period film vibe. Several of the high points of the film are dramatic 50s style one-shot scenes performed with amazing grandeur—Hobie Doyle does a handstand on a galloping horse’s back, Burt Gurney leads a crew of sailors in a tap-dance routine—and I loved every one of them.
Hail, Caesar!, flawless from every aspect from its execution to its subtle humor, may be widely unappreciated by those who prefer fast paced action or characters that make rational decisions, but as a film its classic vibe is sure to make it a timeless treasure.
