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The Man Who Wasn't There Details

2001 DVD Certificate 15.gif
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 14,764 members

The Coen brothers' THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE is a brilliantly photographed black-and-white absurdist noir set in Santa Rosa, California, in 1949. Ed Crane (the outstanding Billy Bob Thornton) is a slow-moving, barely talking barber who doesn't seem to want much out of life. He has virtually no relationship with his wife, Doris (.. Read more

Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, Michael Badalucco
Director Joel Coen
Genres Drama

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The Man Who Wasn't There

The Coen brothers' THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE is a brilliantly photographed black-and-white absurdist noir set in Santa Rosa, California, in 1949. Ed Crane (the outstanding Billy Bob Thornton) is a slow-moving, barely talking barber who doesn't seem to want much out of life. He has virtually no relationship with his wife, Doris (Frances McDormand), who has more fun with her boss, Big Dave (James Gandolfini). But when a strange character (Jon Polito) lets it be known that he's looking for a silent partner to finance his dream business (something he calls dry cleaning), Ed sees a possible way out of his doldrums. Just like any good James M. Cain novel (which the Coens cited as a major influence on the story), blackmail, deceit, violence, murder, and double crossing ensue, all with the magic Coen twists and turns.
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE looks simply magnificent; the cinematography, the outfits, and the set designs perfectly capture this intriguing post-WWII paranoid world embodied by misfits, cheats, simpletons, con men, and other ne'er-do-wells. Thornton, who also supplies the wonderfully droll narration, gives a bravura performance as Ed, the everyman who has never strayed from the straight and narrow--until now. Always with a Chesterfield in his mouth, he wanders from scene to scene almost as if he's a spectator--even though he's at the center of everything that goes on. The supporting cast, as usual in a Coen brothers film, is outstanding, including McDormand, Gandolfini, Polito, Tony Shalhoub, Richard Jenkins, and Scarlett Johansson as a young potential piano prodigy.

Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini, Michael Badalucco, Katherine Borowitz, Jon Polito, Richard Jenkins, Christopher McDonald, Tony Shalhoub, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Alexi-Malle
Director Joel Coen
Studio ENTERTAINMENT IN VIDEO
Run time DVD: 1 hr 51 mins
Certificate DVD Certificate 15.gif
Genres Drama
Language English
Released DVD: 22 Apr 2002
Production year: 2001
Format DVD
  • Critics' reviews (6) of The Man Who Wasn't There

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  • 5 stars out of 5

    It would be simplistic to call this period crime drama from the Coen brothers a pastiche of film noir. Certainly it is set in small-town California in 1949 and involves an ordinary Joe embroiled in a murder plot — and it's shot in black and white — but the veneer of homage masks something far more complex and clever. The story, in which Billy Bob Thornton's inscrutable barber Ed Crane attempts to escape from his humdrum life through blackmail, is typical of the Coens. But, instead of the comic mania of Raising Arizona or The Big Lebowski, we see one man's decline told in slow, meditative terms. With its dash of flying-saucer paranoia, it's also tempting to interpret the film as a broader examination of western existential dread. Sublime acting from Thornton and Coen regular Frances McDormand, aided by the stunning photography of Roger Deakins, makes this movie the most introspective in the Coen canon. It's certainly on a par with Fargo, if a lot more demanding of a modern audience.

    • Radio Times
  • "...It's probable that most filmmakers love making movies, but few of them express this love with such voracious, crazy ardor....THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE moves with the stately grace of the Beethoven that decorates the soundtrack..."

    • New York Times
  • Most helpful member's review of The Man Who Wasn't There

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  • 27 out of 28 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 2 stars

    The Clever Coens Twist on Film Noir

    First off, the movie is worth a rental for the visuals alone. Cinematographer Roger Deakins out does himself here, using beautiful shades of grey to paint the Coen brothers story of a world without moral blacks and whites.

    Secondly, rent it to see a stellar performance by Billy Bob Thorton. Rather taciturn themselves, the Coens create the ultimate quiet anti-hero, Ed Crane (Billy Bob) who barely says a word as he moves through every scene of this existential thriller.

    'The Man Who Wasn't There' has the classic noir feel you would expect from 'Double Indemnity', but there's a lot more under the surface. Watch carefully as the film explores questions of morality, reality, and the ultimate question, shouted in the pivotal court scene: "What kind of man are you?" It's not the feel good hit of the summer, nor is it the Coen's best, but it's a solid entry in their film resume.

      • LoganV from Fife
  • Most recent members' review of The Man Who Wasn't There

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  • 5 out of 5 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Noir that sheds light on isolation

    A very intense and bizarre thriller this. Thornton's narration is haunting and really takes you into the mind of an outsider.

    You really get a sense of this weirdo's confusion at all around him and there are plenty of little insights into how people around him find his behaviour endearing. But the emergence of his dark side seems almost inevitable while still being shocking.

    Classic Coen brothers' absurdities are thrown into the story line (what are the UFOs about?!). But it is Thorntons simmering performance and the beautiful black and white photography that will haunt you.

    If you like Jacob's Ladder among others this is a must-see. If you want to see some blinding star turns then look out for Frances McDormand (nothing like the sex-les cop you remember from Fargo) and the fledgling Scarlett Johanssen (a little rough around the edges compared to Lost in Translation) and James Gandolfini (as hard as you remember him in the Sopranos).

      • AndyZ1 from Croydon
  • News and features

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    Disturbia

    Billy Bob Thornton joins cast of Eagle Eye

    • 08 Nov 2007

    Monster's Ball star Billy Bob Thornton is to appear opposite Shia LaBeouf and Rosario Dawson in a new thriller entitled Eagle Eye. The Hollywood Reporter said today that Thornton, whose credits include Pushing Tin and The Man Who Wasn't There, will star in the movie and be directed by DJ Caruso. Eagle Eye tells the story of a single mother, to be played by Michelle Monaghan, and a young man (LaBeouf) who are blackmailed into joining a terrorist cell. Thornton will play a "patriotic hero&quo Read more

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Rating breakdown

14,764 Member ratings
  • 100
1,243
  • 90
1,390
  • 80
3,405
  • 70
2,988
  • 60
2,626
  • 50
1,363
  • 40
785
  • 30
475
  • 20
337
  • 10
152

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    • The Coen brothers' THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE is a brilliantly photographed black-and-white absurdist noir set in Santa Rosa, California, in 1949. Ed Crane (the outstanding Billy Bob Thornton) is a ...