The Man Who Wasn't There (R) ★★★

A black-and-white film with a noir-like plot about a chain-smoking, unhappily married barber whose blackmail attempt is foiled by a series of ironic mishaps.

Story

Set in 1949 in the quiet California town of Santa Rosa, the story centers on Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton), who is a second-chair barber in his brother-in-law Frank's barbershop (Michael Badalucco). Ed's wife Doris (Frances McDormand) is having an affair with

her boss, hotshot department store owner Big Dave (James Gandolfini). When Ed gets an investment tip on the future of dry cleaning, he decides it's time to cash in his chips so he blackmails Big Dave. Big Dave, married to wealthy heiress Ann (Katherine Borowitz), is not about to let this

financial pressure get the better of him (come on now, this is Tony Soprano Ed's messing with). Things quickly spiral out of control (someone's murdered), slow down (Ed narrates, Ed smokes, narrates, smokes some more), and then just get weird (something involving UFO sightings and a teenage pianist) before coming to an electrifying end.

Acting

The film's lineup is impressive: Thornton, McDormand, Gandolfini, Badalucco, Scarlett Johansson, Tony Shalhoub. Yet the cast seems as constrained as a prisoner in jail, waiting for breaks in Ed's narration to shine. The reliance on voice-over narration

to get the story across impedes the dramatic and comedic timing and much of the acting, except of course that of the Bogart-like Ed. We're captivated by him whether we like it or not--he is the only one that can tell us what the hell is going on. Unfortunately, he loses a lot of credibility because although he assures us he's a quiet man of few words, he never shuts up.

Direction

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (Fargo) did what they set out to do--which was create an impressive, smart, modern, take on '40s film-noir classics like The Postman Always Rings Twice. Watch this movie for the unprecedented black-and-white cinematography of Roger Deakins, who takes inspiration from the Coens and turns what many moviegoers expect from a black-and-white picture on its head. Mainstream audiences may have difficulty with the slow, methodical pace of this movie and some things drag the film down, like the UFO subplot. But the Coens have a reason for all things, leaving much to the viewer's interpretation. Perhaps the directors employed the same theory as the defense attorney does in the movie, the 'uncertainty principle'--the more you look at something, the less you know.

Bottom Line

This is not your grandparents' black-and-white film. It's worth seeing if you are a cinematographer buff or a Coen brothers buff, and don't mind having a story narrated to you for almost two hours.