EVERY COEN BROTHERS MOVIE SINCE 2000, RANKED

The Coen Brothers are some of the most prolific filmmakers of the modern era. With a collective fourteen Academy Awards nominations between the two of them, they're clearly remarkably talented men. Their films have become staples of American pop culture, whether that's by spawning some of the most iconic references of all time or creating a popular television series based entirely on the world of one of their movies.

Just in the past two decades, they have released thirteen films including their more recent solo endeavors. Each one brings something unique to the table, and therefore, they're all incredible in their own right.

The Ladykillers Was the Coens' First Foray Into Remakes

The Ladykillers was, in the eyes of many critics, a rare misstep for the Coen Brothers. It's a remake of the 1955 British film of the same name and tells the story of a widow who ends up embroiled in the affairs of a group of gang members who rent a room in her home. Their version starred Tom Hanks (their first collaboration with the renowned actor), Irma P. Hall, and J.K. Simmons.

Most critics compared it unfavorably to the original film, which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay and won the same award at the BAFTAs that year. They claimed the performances were over the top to the point of absurdity, which hindered their enjoyment of the movie (though they near-universally regarded Irma P. Hall as the film's standout). Regardless, it carries on many traditional Coen Brothers trademarks, such as the usage of Southern music to establish the movie's atmosphere.

Intolerable Cruelty Doesn't Quite Feel Like a Coen Brothers Film - But It's Still Excellent

Intolerable Cruelty caters to mainstream tastes more than other Coen Brothers films. It's a romantic comedy, thus making it a massive departure from their typical work. It stars George Clooney, a frequent collaborator of theirs, as a divorce lawyer whose life turns upside down when he meets a woman (played expertly by Catherine Zeta-Jones) desperate to get revenge on him for shutting her out of any financial compensation in her settlement. Their duel for supremacy quickly turns flirtatious, and typical Coen hijinks ensue.

Critics considered it to be a bit of a disappointment compared to their previous work as well (in part simply because it caters more to the masses than anything else they've ever done). They enjoyed the film as a whole - Clooney and Zeta-Jones earned particular praise for their performances - but claimed that it didn't feel true to the brothers' artistic identities, therefore making it one of their lesser entries.

The Man Who Wasn't There Paid Tribute to Film History

The Man Who Wasn't There revitalized the film noir genre for a new generation. Set in 1949, the film details the life of a barber whose life changes when he's given a promising business opportunity by a mysterious man who comes into his shop. To get the money to invest in this venture, he decides to swindle his wife's lover out of the money. It's shot entirely in black and white to pay homage to the genre classics that came before it, and stars routine Coen collaborators Frances McDormand and Scarlett Johansson.

Critics adored The Man Who Wasn't There, though it didn't make as much of a splash at the box office as the directors hoped (as the directors' worst-performing film since The Hudsucker Proxy). They praised the performances of the leading actors, especially Billy Bob Thorton, and loved how it was a homage to a previously overlooked era of cinematic history.

The Tragedy of Macbeth Marks Joel Coen's First Solo Effort

The Coen Brothers famously announced that they were taking a brief hiatus from filmmaking as a duo back in 2021, as Ethan wanted to take a break to focus on theater rather than movies. Joel, however, never took this break. Instead, he threw himself into his first solo endeavor as a director. His adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, which starred Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in the central roles, once again was shot in black-and-white to add to the severity of the film's subject material.

The film was a critical success and even went on to be nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Denzel Washington (though it didn't win any of them). Many regard it as one of the best adaptations of Shakespeare's source material, which is widely known for how difficult it is to do justice on the screen. Joel Coen brought a unique flair to a traditional story and should be celebrated for how well he did it.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Experiments With Anthology Style

The Netflix anthology The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a bit infamous among die-hard Coen Brothers fans. It didn't perform quite as well as the brothers hoped it would, and many of the production issues were later cited by Ethan Coen as part of the reason he wanted to take a break from the film industry. They hated the Netflix release, considering it inferior to the theatrical runs all their previous films had done.

The film is broken up into six individual stories that, other than being set in the West, don't relate to each other. It stars a remarkable group of actors, including Tim Blake Nelson, Liam Neeson, Harry Melling, and Brendon Gleeson. Each of the stories stands out in its own way, making this a particularly worthwhile watch for any fans of the Coen Brothers' unique style who would love to see them take on something dissimilar to anything they've done before.

Drive-Away Dolls Prove That Ethan Coen is a Comedic Genius

The first in his upcoming trilogy of lesbian B-movie comedies, Ethan Coen's solo directorial debut Drive-Away Dolls proves that though he may have momentarily lost his passion for filmmaking, he's nowhere near out of ideas or talent. The film follows Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) as they adventure out to Tallahassee after getting their hands on a mysterious briefcase that turns out to belong to a group of criminals.

Though it occasionally veers into the positively absurd, the film ultimately sticks its landing. It embraces the zaniness of its concept by allowing the actors to be as sincere as possible with the material they're given. Qualley and Viswanathan's chemistry crackles on the screen, making the movie incredibly compelling to even the most skeptical audiences. It brings a return to true Coen Brothers comedic form, even though it's a solo effort, and should be applauded for that.

Burn After Reading

Burn After Reading is one of the most absurd Coen Brothers offerings up to this point. It combines the wildest aspects of comedies like Fargo with some of the darker, more crime-centered aspects of films like Blood Simple to create a film like no other. It met critical acclaim when it first came out and was named one of 2008's best films by numerous publications.

It tells the story of inept gym employees Chad and Linda, who mistake a former CIA analyst's memoir drafts for classified government documents. This lands them in hot water with the federal government after a blackmailing attempt goes south and they find themselves potentially being considered threats to the nation's security. It was a breath of fresh air in the face of films that took themselves incredibly seriously and deserve to be acclaimed as such.

A Serious Man Tackles Incredible Complicated Themes

A Serious Man handles some of the most complex themes in the Coen Brothers' filmography. The protagonist, Larry Gopnik, endures some of the most trying situations of his life, and during these difficult times, his relationship with religion is put to the test. It's an interesting analysis of the role religion plays in someone's life when they're in their darkest hour, and a break from many traditional Coen films.

A Serious Man allows them to get as existential as they'd like. The Coens have never shied away from difficult issues, but this time, they bring them to the forefront. Though it's heavier than a bit of their other work, it's a rewarding watch and one that's well worth visiting for fans of their movies.

Hail, Caesar! Embraces the Absurdity of the Film Industry

Hail, Caesar! is once again, a return to the goofier side of Coen movies in the aftermath of darker films such as Inside Llewyn Davis. Many consider the homage to cinematic history one of their weaker films (perhaps simply because their filmography is so full of hits that it's nearly impossible to choose which is their worst), but regardless, it's still an incredibly entertaining watch.

It follows the story of Hollywood "fixer" Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) who finds himself deeply embroiled in controversy when the studio's best actor, Baird Whitlock, goes missing. This lands him in a particularly precarious position where he meets a series of unique secondary characters ranging from a young actor trying to change genres to a pregnant starlet trying to salvage her reputation. Nothing in the film takes itself seriously, which, like so many of their other movies, is what makes this one work so well.

True Grit Is Their Best Remake

True Grit is one of the best Westerns in recent years. A remake of the 1969 John Wayne film of the same name, it tells the story of a young girl named Mattie Ross who has recently lost her father. To avenge his death at the hands of a shady criminal, she enlists the help of reluctant U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn. Along the way, they routinely cross paths with Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who is on the hunt for the same criminal.

It boasts career-defining performances from its three leads - Hailee Steinfeld, Jeff Bridges, and Matt Damon - and cemented the Coen Brothers as some of the best directors currently working in the Western genre. Many critics claimed it was better than the original film, which is high praise, given that it is one of the films that defined the genre in the first place. Though it won zero of the ten Academy Awards it was nominated for, it's still one of the greatest entries to the Coens' filmography.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? Reimagines a Beloved Classic

The Coen Brothers are no strangers to reinventing takes on classic stories, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? is just another in a long line of successes. Though it's a loose interpretation, the film is based on Homer's The Odyssey and littered with Easter eggs for intrepid fans to discover. In the film, Everett (George Clooney) and his two dimwitted friends (John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson) search for a hidden treasure while simultaneously trying to avoid being captured by the town's sheriff.

Part of the movie's success can be chalked up to its soundtrack, which was the first tie-in album for a film to win Album of the Year at the Grammys. The Coens love to use music in unique ways throughout their movies, and O Brother features perhaps the best example, as traditional folk music appears throughout the movie to both set the atmosphere and foreshadow events that will occur later.

Inside Llewyn Davis Continues the Coens Tradition of Using Music In Their Films

Inside Llewyn Davis also stands out as one of the oddest entries to the Coen Brothers canon. Rather than embracing the conventions they had become well-known for up to this point, they set out to create an understated slice-of-life drama about a struggling folk singer in the 1960s. It's a beautiful interpretation of what it means to be an artist (especially one who isn't necessarily finding success right off the bat), and boasts one of their most incredible soundtracks.

Where the movie shines, however, is through the performance of Oscar Isaac in the titular role. It's a career-best performance (though he's currently on the rise and shows no signs of slowing down) that could not have been captured by any other actor. He ensures Llewyn remains sympathetic at all times, even though he makes the wrong choice in nearly every situation he finds himself in, and the movie is better because of it.

No Country for Old Men Is Their Best Film Yet

No Country for Old Men combines everything fans love about the Coen Brothers into one expertly crafted movie. It blends their love for crime films with the existentialist themes prominent in films like Inside Llewyn Davis and A Serious Man to create a masterful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's wildly popular novel of the same name. Like so many of their other movies, it treats the setting as a character rather than just a backdrop, which allows the world to feel so much more alive than it would under a lesser filmmaker.

No Country for Old Men earned universal critical acclaim. It won four prizes at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture (the only film by the duo to earn the award up to this point), Best Supporting Actor for Barden, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director. Across all the awards ceremonies it was eligible for, it was nominated for 109 different prizes, and took home a large portion of those. It's easily the best of the Coens' recent features.

2024-05-03T11:58:46Z dg43tfdfdgfd