Burn After Reading

English/96 Minutes/2008/Rated R

"Report back to me when things make sense." - CIA Superior

That line could be a mantra for our own CIA and “Burn After Reading,” the new Coen Brothers film is a darkly comic take on that world.

In the film, two bumbling gym workers, Chad and Linda (Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt), in need of money, stumble across the memoirs of failed CIA analyst Ozborne Cox (John Malkovich). Not knowing that what they have is essentially junk they attempt to blackmail Cox. Far in over their heads they set in motion a course of events that lead to violence and hilarity, sometimes in the same scene. Throw into this a philandering Treasury agent (George Clooney) who is sleeping with Cox's wife (Tilda Swinton) and you have a strange blend of musical beds and black comedy as only the Coens can do.

The performances are all great, but most of the characters are unlikeable. Mcdormand's Linda is an incredibly egotistical and shallow person. Her desire for plastic surgery leads her to do things she mightn't otherwise. She is so obsessed with “reinventing herself” that she is unable to see herself as lovable and is therefore unable to see the love of one of her coworkers.

Brad Pitt as Chad, her bumbling assistant, plays braindead (almost to the point of farce). There is not much for Pitt to do here but he makes the most of his screen time. Clooney as Harry is a philandering, pathological liar, but he manages to portray the character as a sort of stunted child who never suspects that what he's doing could have serious consequences. Tilda Swinton is almost wasted in an ice-queen performance that, while memorable, is not something we haven't seen before. Capping the cast is John Malkovich as Cox. He is a man who has been marginalized and abused by people he perceives to be his lessers and we watch as he slowly comes unhinged.

The film is very much about the failure of people to communicate at both the personal and the governmental level. People talk at each other, evasive and sometimes oblivious to the other party. A great example is the scene where Chad calls Cox to offer to return his memoir files. Chad is expecting a reward but Cox thinks he is attempting blackmail. Another example is a great scene where Cox confronts a man in his basement and they discuss what he represents.

At the national level we have Cox's superiors (JK Simmons and David Rasche) who act as a sort of Greek chorus to the goings on. When it is mentioned that someone has been murdered in Cox's house the superiors say “burn the body.” As things escalate the priorities continue to be the reduction of headaches.

Behind all of this is a great dramatic irony in which no one gets what they want or deserve but suffer the consequences of decisions made in haste. This is a recurring theme in many of the Coen's films, from Llewelyn Moss in “No Country for Old Men” to the McDunnoughs in “Raising Arizona” there is the recurring theme of unintended consequences. In “Burn After Reading” we see that governments, like people are always trying to minimize the consequences, even at the risk of doing greater harm. Recommended.

Rated R for Pervasive Language, Some Sexual Content and Violence