Coen Brothers movies haven’t always stuck out to me as ones that I’d have a particular interest in, although they’ve made some great ones, such as: No Country For Old Men, O Brother Where Art Thou, and The Big Lebowski. There’s a certain humour and mood that’s brought to their style and I feel that’s why I’ve never really connected with them, but Hail, Caesar seemed to have something about it where that could change my mind. They enjoy making movies set back in that ‘Golden Era’ for film like the 40s & 50s (maybe that’s what contributes to my disinterest), and George Clooney can be enjoyable from time to time, so why not? I didn’t know what I’d expect from it, but it was worth checking out.

Caesar was the title of the leader of the Roman Empire, and it was so following the tenure of the one and only Julius Caesar. A leader is the overseer of his empire and has to take on the burden of making significant decisions that’ll have key importance to his people. Josh Brolin, who plays an important role of representing a big Hollywood studio, is the Caesar that goes against the original definition, but was styled in such a way that he’s the glue that holds the studio together and keeps it functioning. When a star actor gets held for ransom, when another star transitions to a role that was not meant for him in the first place, and another that has a potential problematic public image issue, Caesar (Brolin) is called upon to make things go away, although he has his own personal battles to tend to as to if he wants to continue being that fixer.

The cast selection was a surprise to me whenever they came about on screen. Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton, and Jonah Hill (to name a few) had their moments, but served as useful contributors to pushing the story. It gets political at times (given the circumstance of the time period), and some parts, my eyes did glaze over. The crowd I was in was much older than me, so they found more things to be funny where I sat down with a straight face, but that’s just where I go back to not having that full connection with Coen Brothers movies. It doesn’t take away the fact that this is a good movie, however, because it is. Memorable? Probably not, but at least there was something to take away from it, and there’s a complete ending in a sense. If you’re trying to see something a little outside of your regular viewing pleasure, this one might be worth your while, but it’s not a rush-out-to-the-theatres-must-see type of movie. But for now, this is my opinion, this is my review

That’s My Word & It STiXX