Feature
Friday Fiver: The Coolest Coen Characters
Movie Feature
After taking a dark and grizzly turn with No Country For Old Men, the Coens are back in goof mode for Burn After Reading, a tale of two hapless gym employees who get in over their heads when they attempt to blackmail a CIA agent. The film unites a star-studded cast of Coen veterans George Clooney and Frances McDormand with Coen newbies, Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich. Regular Coen hallmarks of botched crime, incompetent antiheroes, quips a-plenty and untimely demises can be expected. To celebrate the return of the brothers grim, here are a few of our favourite Coen creations.
5. KARL 'MADMAN' MUNDT |
BARTON FINK (1991) |
Shut away in his hotel room trying to pen a wrestling movie, Barton Fink is suffering from writer's block. Friendly neighbour and "common man" Charlie Meadows helps Barton out by showing him some wrestling moves and the two strike up a friendship. Little does Barton know that Charlie is in fact Karl "Madman" Mundt, a nut job with a penchant for pyromania. John Goodman gives a great Jekyll and Hyde performance, culminating in a spectacular scene of wrath and hellfire. |
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4. FREDDY RIEDENSCHNEIDER |
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (2001) |
Ed and Doris Crane get themselves in a spot of bother when Doris is accused of a murder Ed committed. Being the chivalrous type, Ed decides not to confess to get his wife off the hook, but instead calls in hot-shot lawyer Freddy Riedenschneider. Tony Shalhoub plays sharp-suited, quick thinking Freddy with panache and breathtaking energy. Freddy's charisma and constant stream of lawyerly bullshit fills both the screen and the void left by Billy Bob Thornton's minimalist performance. |
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3. ANTON CHIGURH |
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007) |
Not since it was perched on the head of Paul McCartney in the 60s has the bowl-cut been so terrifying. The air of menace is palpable every time Javier Bardem appears on screen. Not only is Anton Chigurh evil incarnate, he's also a certified oddball, his weapon du jour being a cattle gun. He takes curious pride in his gruesome line of work, living by his own twisted code of morality and logic. |
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2. JEFFREY 'THE DUDE' LEBOWSKI |
THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) |
Hardly in need of an introduction, El Duderino has crossed from the realm of movie character into that of legend. He's laid back to the point of being horizontal; rolling a bowling ball is the closest he comes to physical exertion. The Dude floats on a smokey plane of his own. Lebowski Fests are held all over America to celebrate the majesty of His Dudeness. All hail. |
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1. MARGE GUNDERSON |
FARGO (1996) |
Sarah Palin eat your heart out: Marge Gunderson is the true gun-toting Queen of the North. Unflappable and heavily pregnant, Marge sets out to solve the case of a triple homicide in her sleepy town. Unperturbed by the sight of Steve Buscemi disappearing into a wood chipper, she sees the case through to its conclusion. It's unusual to see such a favourable portrayal of a cop, but Police Chief Marge Gunderson is kind hearted, amiable and quietly determined, a true hero. Oh yah. |
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Burn After Reading is released in the UK on Friday. Anna
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