Billy Bob Thornton in "The Man Who Wasn't There."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film an: Stars: Billy Bob Thornton Director: Joel and Ethan Coen Rated: R, with violence and implied sex Length: 116 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(November 21, 2001) -- Joel and Ethan Coen say they conceived the idea for their black-and-white film, The Man Who Wasn't There, while staring at a poster of vintage 1940 haircuts in a barbershop on the set of O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The filmmakers wondered about the guy who cut the hair.

For most of us, that'd be the end of it. But the Coens aren't like most of us.

They turned that thought into a fascinating, melancholy mystery about a dissatisfied barber whose scheme to improve his lot leads only to trouble.

Unlike the Coens' other dark crime sagas -- Blood Simple, Fargo and Miller's Crossing -- this was lovingly wrapped in the moody style of the movies adapted from the crime novels of James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity.

Raising the film style to poetic artistry is Roger Deakins' shimmering cinematography. To achieve the effect, he shot on color stock but printed it in black-and-white.

And best of all, the Coens corralled Billy Bob Thornton to play the doomed barber. He contributes one of the most engrossing performances of the year.

Thornton is Ed Crane, who cuts hair at the second chair in the barbershop operated by his gabby brother-in-law. A quiet, unemotional sort, Ed shows no passion for anything beyond the cigarette that constantly dangles from his lips.

He even maintains his even keel when he discovers that his wife (Frances McDormand) is having an affair with her boss, Big Dave (James Gandolfini).

Clearly, Ed needs a jolt to awaken him from his malaise. And it shows up as Creighton Tolliver (Jon Polito), a chatty customer with a bad wig. Tolliver persuades Ed to invest in a chain of stores devoted to the new technology of dry cleaning. To become a partner, Ed needs $10,000.

Ed decides to blackmail Big Dave for the money.

Of course, it all goes bad, ushering in a mess of mayhem.

As created by the Coens and Thornton, Ed is one of the year's most intriguing film characters, a restrained, strangely sad figure trying to ease his way through tribulations worthy of the Bible's Job.

Thornton is not only a great actor -- he also looks different in every film. Ed is a gaunt fellow with a polished, neatly trimmed, old-fashioned haircut. He works a cigarette like an artist whose medium is nicotine.

Appropriately for a film noir, the title is a bit vague. But whatever it means, one thing is obvious: Ed wishes he was the man who wasn't there.