The Coen Brothers- O Brother, Where Art Thou?

"Who are the Coen Brothers? Arguably, they're the most controlled and technically proficient filmmakers of their time—peerless writers of stylized dialogue, efficient in pacing, ingenious in plotting, and brilliant in harmonizing every aspect of the craft (music, cinematography, editing, performances, et al.) to best service the whole. But here's the funny thing about the Coens: Their detractors are likely to agree with nearly every scrap of hyperbole in that last sentence and still hate them anyway."

The Coen Brothers have there unique style that their audience loves, yet critics hate. In O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen, 2000), Everett, Pete, and Delmar escape from their chain gang in pursuit of treasure that doesn't even exist. In reality, Everett has to go find his ex-wife and stop her from marrying Vernon T. Waldrip, the suitor. O Brother, Where Art Thou? is just another typical Coen Brothers' film.

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It contains a twisted, noir like plot and many allusions. You don't find out what Everett is really after until the movie is halfway over. This is similar to the twisted plot in No Country for Old Men (Coen Brothers, 2007). The protagonist dies halfway through the movie and the Sheriff, Ed Tom Bell, becomes the new protagonist. The movie then focuses on the Bell's fear of Anton Chigurh, the psychotic killer and his career winding down. Allusions are common in the Coen's movies. O Brother, Where Art Thou is filled with allusions from Homer's Odyssey. You see in this clip from O Brother, Where Art Thou?, there's a huge allusion of the Sirens. It differs from The Odyssey though because Everett, Pete, and Delmar listen to the Sirens' call.

This is similar to The Man Who Wasn't There (Joel Coen, 2001). This movie is another twisted, noir like plot that has allusions of The Postman Always Rings Twice (Tay Garnett, 1946).

The Coen Brothers have a unique use of sound. They use around two motifs throughout all their films. In O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Coens use three motifs. They are "Keep on the Sunny Side", "Big Rock Candy Mountains", and "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow". In Raising Arizona (Coen Brothers, 1987), the opening scenes has that folk type song that plays when H.I. is talking about Ed. There's also another motif that occurs when H.I is being chased by cops, every time, after robbing the convenience store. It's a similar folk song. The last motif occurs throughout the movie when H.I. sees or thinks about Leonard Smalls, "the rider of the Apocalypse.

To sum up the Coen Brothers' films, they have twisted, noir like plots. They use immense amounts of violence. In about everyone of the Coens' films, they use around two musical motifs. The Coen Brothers are ingenious directors that will go down in history as some of the greatest auteurs ever.