***/**** (3.5 stars)
A day in the life of Eddie Mannix, a fixer for the Hollywood film studios, Capitol Pictures.
When you see a film written by the Coens, there are certain things you expect: satirical bite; witty dialogue; fast-talking characters; and a good deal of film stars. 'Hail, Caesar!' has all these factors... and yet, whilst their past films have been, arguably, social studies of America, their latest outing feels all surface and no substance. Maybe that is entirely intentional, it being a film about a film studio in which Communists kidnap the main star, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) and try to teach him about the corrupt nature of American culture, but it just felt empty to me.
That isn't to say I didn't enjoy it, however - I just wanted more! As you are probably aware, I am somewhat adverse to comedy, and yet I did find myself chuckling along with the film, from Channing Tatum's overly dramatic dancer to the scene in which four religious figure heads discuss the portrayal of Christ in the studio's upcoming film, 'Hail, Caesar!' It's not what I would call 'laugh out loud' funny, more a sort of 'oh, that was clever' chuckle as you watch the Coens gently mock cinematic tropes from films of days past. Of course, you expect it to be clever, and some of the dialogue is excellent - scathing and highly witty at the same time - it's just not as humorous as you would hope. Ralph Fiennes once again demonstrates his comedy chops as an exasperated director, and George Clooney steals each scene he's in as bumbling film star, Baird Whitlock, but I wouldn't really describe it as a comedy.
There's no real plot either - it's just a day in the life of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin, channelling his best Tommy Lee Jones) as he tries to keep the stars of the studio under control. There's an interesting side plot about him being offered another job with a nuclear arms company, which hints at the threat of nuclear Armageddon, but is never fully developed. Essentially, the film sees Mannix running about the studio, bumping into walk-on, walk-off A-list stars (Scarlett Johansson, Jonah Hill and Frances McDormand to name but a few). To it's credit, however, it does look fantastic, each shot beautifully framed and cleverly adopting characteristics from retro cinema, such as the overlaying shots between a scene in which Mannix walks across the set's steps to Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich, who is uncannily like a young Leonardo DiCaprio) driving his car into the night. Little things like that are good and do make you smile knowingly as the Coens present this love letter to directors who came before them.
It's a gentle and quietly enjoyable film but it doesn't match up to the Coens at their best. Whilst there are undoubtedly chuckles to be had, and scenes to be enjoyed, it fails to scratch past the ultra-shiny surface of beautiful A-list stars and the immaculate period detail. Not without enjoyment, just fair from ground breaking.
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