I loved No Country For Old Men, and while it reflected the Coen Brothers’ evolution as filmmakers and had many moments that were purely theirs (even ones they took right from the book, amazingly), I’d be hard pressed to call that film a definitive Coen Brothers movie.
Now, I haven’t seen Burn After Reading yet, but based on the red band trailer that has premiered on iTunes, I’d say that this looks like it has the makings of a quintessential Coen Brothers film. And it’s got Brad Pitt in a mode that I’m not sure we’ve really seen since True Romance – full on buffoon. I like what I see in this trailer. It may not win the Brothers any awards (I think they’re doing fine on that front), but it looks like a refreshing return to form.
Be warned: this link to the trailer will require you to watch it via iTunes. I am sure some other sites will siphon the trailer and run it whole on their own servers; that sort of piracy is ethically deplorable in my eyes. Yes, this is not the ideal way for Focus to present the trailer, but stealing the trailer is sort of shitty as well.
Thanks to the many readers who sent in this link, by the way.