Review - Intolerable Cruelty

Intolerable Cruelty
dir(s). Joel and Ethan Coen
2003

While this site has started by reviewing new-ish movies, comics, and more, Intolerable Cruelty will be the first of many reviews of older items because not everything I consume is brand new and I don't want to inundate the site with reviews of the same comics each month. Reviews will still be written after having recently experiencing, or re-experiencing as the case may be, a given title.

Intolerable Cruelty is often seen as a miss from the Coen brothers by many though there is disagreement whether their slump started with this film or with The Man Who Wasn't There in 2001 and continued with the release of The Ladykillers in 2004. I do tend to see this film as a departure for the Coen brothers, but I don't see it as the failure that it has been painted by so many. The Coens themselves admit in the bonus feature on the DVD that it is a departure for them both in tone and in the perceived commercial heights it was aiming for.

The film stars George Clooney as Miles Massey and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Marilyn Rexroth. Massey is an accomplished divorce attorney who feels an emptiness creeping into his life while Marilyn is well-to-do wife looking for a large divorce settlement from her buffoon husband Rex Rexroth. The film pays an obvious homage to the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s such as His Girl Friday (1940) staring Cary Grant. The dialog is also of that era with fast talking, witty characters who always have a barb for one another. Clooney and Zeta-Jones have a strong chemistry throughout the film and their performances make the film memorable. The direction and styling of the film are also recognizably Coen brothers. Although the film is clearly a Coen brothers film which features strong performances and great dialog there is a certain airiness to the proceedings that keeps it from being as memorable and remarkable as their other features. Other Coen brother features, from the great to the not-so-great, have a depth to them that will keep the film playing in the audience's mind long after it is over. Those are films that stand up to multiple viewings whereas Intolerable Cruelty is an entertaining diversion but seemingly not much more than that.

Verdict: 3 stars out of 5.