Film Review | Raising Arizona (1987)

The story goes that Ethan and Joel Coen wanted their second feature film to be as different to their debut, Blood Simple, as they could make it. If that was indeed the case then Raising Arizona in that respect is a near-comprehensive success, being as it is a fast-paced, madcap comedy packed with cartoonish characters and oodles of symbolic references. But whilst Raising Arizona in many ways distances itself from the Coen Brothers' first film, there are plenty of stylistic choices which make it clear "The Two-Headed Director" of Ethan and Joel are once again in the driving seat.

Raising Arizona regularly flies in the face of cinematic conventions. The opening credits appear over ten minutes into the film's running time, by which point we've seen H. I. "Hi" McDunnough (Nicolas Cage) go to prison three times; marry Ed (Holly Hunter), the officer who takes his mugshot after each arrest; unsuccessfully try to start a family; and set in motion a plan to steal one of the "Arizona Quints" recently born to furniture magnate Nathan Arizona (Trey Wilson) and his wife. The rest of the film doesn't trouble itself much with plot, allowing itself to meander here and there following the lives of the McDunnoughs and focusing on the problems Hi constantly faces in looking after his infant "son", keeping his wife happy, and staying on the straight and narrow.

This is the Coens' first screwball comedy, a subgenre they would revisit more than once later in their careers, but their character-driven inaugural effort still stands up over twenty-five years after its release thanks to the vibrant and at times surreal script as well as comprehensively excellent performances from the cast. Cage deserves high praise for his turn as antihero Hi, achieving a satisfying balance between the comedic and sympathetic throughout. Hunter also does well developing a charming on-screen relationship with Cage whilst impressing with some delightfully over-the-top comedy moments of her own. Able support comes from the double act of William Forsythe and future multiple-Coen-collaborator John Goodman as escaped convicts the Snoats brothers, acting for most of the film like a pair of miniature devils on the shoulder of Hi as well as carrying out one of the most memorably bungled bank robberies in movie history.

The Coens pack their second film chock-full of intriguing questions for the audience. Why does Leonard Smalls' (Randall "Tex" Cobb) name recall the man-child protagonist of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men? Is there an intertextuality between this work and Steinbeck's as characters from both unsuccessfully strive for the American Dream? Or is it just sly ironic humour - Steinbeck's Lennie has an obsession with rabbits throughout his novel, and Smalls' introductory scene in the Coens' film sees him dispatch an innocent bunny with a disproportionate amount of firepower. The Coens' despicable bounty hunter poses another enigma later on when it is revealed he shares a tattoo with Hi during a punch-up between the two. Does this represent a duality between the characters, with Smalls reflecting what Hi could have become had he not strived to follow the path of good? Or is it just another piece of surreal Coen humour, an unexpected way of halting the violence for a second as the two characters display just as much bafflement at the revelation as the audience?

Perhaps this is the beauty of Raising Arizona. It's not the Coen's tightest or most powerful work; but it can be studied and picked apart to your heart's content, whilst at the same time providing genuine highly-crafted entertainment that can be enjoyed without having to analyse it in any way. Most of all, it's arguably the first Coen Brothers movie that feels like a "Coen Brothers movie" through and through, with all the directorial and artistic panache that you'd expect. It's a film best summed up by its own theme song: Beethoven's "Ode To Joy" played on the banjo Deliverance-style. It could be a well-thought-out comment on the characters' ideologies within the film, or it could just be a Coen-flavoured oddity. Either way, it's a complete hoot.

8/10

Film Review | Argo (2012)

A couple of weeks before Argo won Best Picture at the 85th Academy Awards, director Ben Affleck stood up in front of an equally prestigious audience of peers to accept the Best Film award at the BAFTAs. Towards the end of his speech, Affleck told the audience: "This is a second act for me, and you have given me that. This industry has given me that" - a clear and honest reference to the director's former critically chequered career in front of the camera. In humbly acknowledging not only his youthful errors but also the objectivity and respect his recent directorial work has been received with by the industry, critics and audiences, Affleck clearly showed how he has developed into a balanced and mature member of the film industry; it is a balance and maturity which is openly reflected throughout the vast majority of Argo's running time.

This is a grown-up film that deals with sensitive issues by and large in a skilled and meticulous fashion. Affleck's casting of himself in the lead role as CIA operative Tony Mendez works well providing a solid presence around which the threads and characters of the story can gravitate. Affleck's largely understated performance also allows the fine performances of his supporting cast to come to the fore. Veterans Alan Arkin and John Goodman put not a foot wrong between them, crafting superb characters from a relatively small amount of screen time. The half dozen ensemble of largely unknown actors playing American diplomats trapped in early 1980s Ayatollah-led Iran also do incredibly well as a collective. It's Bryan Cranston, however, who gives the performance of the film as Mendez's senior Jack O'Donnell. Cranston's performance grows more and more compelling as the film progresses. Having never seen Breaking Bad, Cranston's signature TV drama, I can't compare his performance here to what he's like in that, but let's just say I'm pretty much sold on buying the first season solely on the strength of the actor's Argo turn.

The excellent cast are important in the film's success, but are just one part of what is Affleck's film through and through. The director's skill at capturing the ultra-hostile environment of Iran in the late '70s and early '80s is startling, bringing home the atrocities in a punishingly matter-of-fact fashion. It's almost a shame that Affleck feels the need to draw direct comparison between historical photographs and shots from his film during the closing credits, as if he is desperate to ensure you know that what he's shown you is based in fact. It's okay, Ben, we believe you. The film strikes the perfect balance between drama and realism during the first two acts, although things perhaps slow down a little too much during the middle section. Affleck more than makes up for any slackening of pace by ramping up the tension during the final act, surely one of the most nail-biting and squirm-inducing forty minutes of film you'll watch this year. It may for some be too much of a departure from the realism of earlier in the film, but there's no denying the gripping, heart-pounding nature of the finale Affleck creates.

There are a few minor missteps that hold Argo back from genuine greatness. Goodman and Arkin - two of the film's strongest attributes - are largely sidelined after the film's first act, leaving me wanting more of both and feeling as though the skills of these Hollywood patriarchs hadn't been utilised to their fullest. It would also have been interesting to see a little more of the background to some of the characters featured, particularly Mendez, whose family serves as a plot device rather than supporting characters. These are largely forgivable qualms though due to the consistent quality, maturity and craftsmanship resplendent throughout Argo. This is a genuinely excellent film; whether or not it's a film deserving of the praise and accolades recently lavished upon it is a question that will be answered by time more than anything, and is also a question I am not currently in a position to answer having yet to watch the film's main competition during awards season. But there's no denying the spectacular career transformation Ben Affleck has made, nor the defining moment Argo deserves recognition as in the director's life and work.

8/10