Hail, Caesar!
Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney
Directed by Joel and Ethan Cohen
Old school Hollywood and the rise of Communism take centre stage in Hail, Caesar!, the Coen brothers loving tribute to the golden age of moviemaking during the rise of the Red Scare. The directing duo has assembled another sensational ensemble cast grounded by Hollywood ‘fixer’ Eddie Mannix (Brolin), who works as a sort of private investigator to ensure movie productions are running smoothly behind the scenes. He faces a difficult task when film star Baird Whitlock (Clooney) mysteriously vanishes while filming a big budget period piece.
Mannix spends most of the movie tracking down Whitlock, putting out various figurative fires, and compulsively going to confession. Brolin is excellent as the character, while Clooney is merely serviceable, but it’s the little known Alden Ehrenreich’s breakout role as typecast Western star Hobie Doyle who absolutely steals the show.
As always, the finely crafted script from the Coens is snappy, deftly balancing humour and pathos throughout the film. However, Hail Caesar!’s scattershot story is hard to reign in at times. In a movie featuring a song and dance number led by Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton tacking dual roles as twin sisters, and a vast Communist conspiracy the plot threatens to go off the rails at times. A secondary storyline involving a fast-talking Scarlett Johansson and mild-mannered notary played by Jonah Hill contributes little to the overall piece.
Despite some narrative loose ends, Hail Caesar!, though not ranking with the Coens’ finest, is a brilliant homage to classic films and an undeniably handsome production.
