THE opening film of this year’s Glasgow Film Festival is a rollicking ride through the golden age of Hollywood with a silly wink and a smile in the way only the Coen brothers could ever do.
Set in the 1950s, we spend a day in the life of Hollywood studio fixer Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) at a time when he’s trying to get finished the production on the studio’s eponymous prestige picture. When the picture’s big star, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), is mysteriously kidnapped by an organization calling themselves “The Future,” it’s up to Eddie to try and fix the problems and the many others that follow as a result. Oh, would that it were so simple…
Having just come off perhaps their most sombre film yet with Inside Llewyn Davis, it’s only fitting that this is one of the Coen’s silliest offerings in ages. But that frothy and lightweight nature – especially compared to such past heavyweights as No Country for Old Men and Fargo – isn’t a bad thing as the incomparable filmmaking duo have delivered another charming, effortlessly likeable yarn.
As with The Big Lebowski, the kidnapping aspect of the plot is merely that, an aspect, and entirely incidental to the rest of it. It’s merely the tunnel through which we experience the rest of the frequently hilarious characters and set-pieces.
Unlike the recent Trumbo, which dealt with very much the same era but in a weightier way, this feels altogether more affectionate. The Coens clearly have a fondness for the era and that shows in every impeccably designed frame of the film. It pokes fun at the stylising and absurdity of the times but it’s more like good natured joshing rather than self-satisfied mockery. It’s like Barton Fink’s even goofier cousin.
Fans of that singular time in Hollywood history will have an absolute blast as the film dips its toes into the different styles, from hyperreal noir to high society costume comedy-drama to Gene Kelly-esque musical numbers. It’s a juggling act pulled off beautifully.
The eclectic characters are all brought to life by a game star-studded cast that clearly couldn’t be having any more fun. Though some are admittedly short-changed – namely Jonah Hill who appears in only a single scene with very little to do or say – for the most part each are allowed to make their mark, from Clooney’s Charlton Heston-like megastar to Tilda Swinton’s twin reporters desperate for that next big story.
But it’s Channing Tatum who is the real shining star of the film, appearing as an all-singing, all-tap dancing sailor in a scene that has to be seen to be believed. Clearly the Jump Street franchise isn’t the only time he can be funny.
Hail, Caesar! may not be the weightiest of offerings from the brothers Coen but the chuckles are far from mirthless here. Absolutely bubbling with personality and charm to spare, there’s a lot of joy to be had in this funhouse of old Hollywood nostalgia.
