Hail, Caesar!

7.5/10

The Coen Brothers’ latest jaunt, Hail Caesar is a comedy with an intelligent and absurdist sense of humor. The film follows Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a studio head, as he navigates a number of crises relating to his films, his performers as well as his personal life. The film is set up to be a homage to old Hollywood circa 1950, where films used to be made on a studio lot, regardless of whether that was a biblical epic, or a drama or a western. 

Diverse characters are used to bring this to life, including standouts such as Alden Ehrenreich who is hilarious as Hobie Doyle, a happy-go-lucky cowboy who cannot extend his skills beyond the western genre, and the multi-talented Channing Tatum who shows off his numerous skills in an impressive song-and-dance sequence.

The film benefits from great writing and engaging and humorous dialogue, but its limitation is that it feels more like a patchwork of different narratives that are not explored in enough depth to become ultimately fulfilling. As far as the Coen brothers go, this film, while of a high standard, made it apparent that they are still playing it safe - they know what works for them and are not looking to push beyond it. That being said, there is a lot to admire in this film, and I think it is worth a watch. I would compare this film, favourably I might add, to Burn after Reading. 

Watch this if you liked: Burn After Reading, Ben-Hur, True Grit, LA Confidential