Review After Watching: Burn After Reading
Although it was not obvious from the trailer, Burn After Reading belongs to John Malkovich.
I look back at his vast career and do not tend to say, “that John Malkovich is funny!” Primarily, I think about The Killing Fields. Dangerous Liaisons. Even Con Air. He plays both dead serious and bad ass quite well, as you are well aware.
In Burn After Reading, you will find yourself laughing AT Malkovich for his exasperation, expression and delivery. But his character also has the honor of inflicting the film’s most heinous crime.
Burn After Reading features quite the ensemble; in addition to Academy Award winners George Clooney (Syriana), Frances McDormand (Fargo) and Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton), and the previously nominated Malkovich (Places in the Heart, In the Line of Fire) and Brad Pitt (Twelve Monkeys), the movie’s best moments belong to JK Simmons (Juno, Thank You For Smoking) and underrated character actor Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under).
But…don’t be fooled by the stellar cast and cleverly edited trailer; Burn After Reading is dark. There are moments of levity, but this is not your typical comedy (although fans of the Coen brothers may disagree). It is far more along the lines of Fargo in terms of tone, but not in the same stratosphere with regard to brilliance.
As I watched this film unfold, my mind wandered in two directions. First, the Coen brothers were clearly yearning to return to lighter fare after No Country For Old Men. Second, these actors had a hell of a good time making this movie together. Clooney, Pitt and Swinton are frequent co-stars, and obviously McDormand is married to co-writer/co-director Joel Coen. Their combined comfort level is not a detriment; it is simply an observation.
Overall, I’d rate Burn After Reading a B-, and suggest it as an entertaining rental rather than an in-theater date night.