The Man Who Wasn't There

Billy Bob Thornton is a dreary little hairdresser who sees his big chance when his missus’ infidelities with her boss provide an opportunity for blackmail. As with so many Coen protagonists, however, his attempts to seize the initiative spiral out of control with dire consequences. A typically densely-plotted affair, the movie encompasses dry-cleaning, murder, Beethoven, Roswell imagery and treatises on modernity and alienation. Purposely grey and muted at every turn, this is unlikely to have the mass appeal of O Brother Where Art Thou? , but as I’ve said before and probably will again, the Coens have never done us wrong yet.