Hail, Caesar! - movie review

Hail, Caesar!

Plot: A Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio's stars in line.
Cast: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich
Directors: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
Rating: 12A
Runtime: 1hr 46 mins
Release Date: Friday 4th March 2016

The Big Lebowski. Fargo. No Country For Old Men. Burn After Reading. True Grit. These five films have two very specific things in common. Firstly, they are all critically acclaimed films that have thus developed into cult classics. The second shared aspect is that they are all directed by the unequivocally talented Coen Brothers. Their newest project of Hail, Caesar! combines some of the A-listers from past productions of theirs and a new and inventive story leading to what could be another classic for them. I have to be the bearer of bad news as Hail, Caesar! is not at the same level of previous Coen Brothers films.


No one can ever deny the acting talent involved in any film directed by the Coen Brothers. Most actors could only dream about working with these masters of film and it really is no surprise the phenomenal cast featured in Hail, Caesar! Starting with Josh Brolin, he is the primary focus of this caper as Eddie Mannix, a Hollywood fixer. An enjoyable feature of this film was seeing Mannix wander around the studio lots, peeking in on film sets and hoping to calm any disputes halting film productions. Brolin puts on his best 50's American accent and Mannix is one of the only characters that we really care for. His worry about religion and depicting it in film is clearly troubling him and due to Brolin's great work, we feel for Mannix. But Mannix's main worry is regarding the sudden disappearance of Hollywood star Baird Whitlock. Playing this fictional celebrity is George Clooney who reunites with the Coen Brothers after a small break. Here, he is very good as the clueless actor who gets himself into trouble but I'm still not sold on Clooney's comedic talent. To say that the funniest film I've seen him in is Batman & Robin isn't the best compliment considering that the film is an abomination and a crime against humanity. He is definitely more suited towards dramatic roles but I know that somewhere inside of him is great comedic chops. It's just that they aren't working to their full potential in Hail, Caesar! But the biggest surprise and easily the actor who gives the ultimate performance is Alden Ehrenreich. This guy is sensational and best of all, he's hilarious. He plays the character of Hobie Doyle, a cowboy actor who is thrust into a period piece for the prime reason of selling tickets. Ehrenreich gives it his all and it clearly shows. Anytime he was onscreen I was captivated and those were definitely the highlights within this mediocre film. There have been rumours about Ehrenreich being cast as the young Han Solo and having seen him in this, I'm not against that idea. I would prefer Taron Egerton in the role but if a news article were to be released tomorrow claiming that Ehrenreich has been cast, I'm all for it. Other actors are featured and from looking at the trailers and posters, you could easily be mistaken thinking that they play a prominent part of the film. Actors like Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Frances McDormand and Ralph Fiennes are nothing but glorified cameos, Hill especially as he is in one incredibly short scene with only a couple of lines of dialogue. Johansson puts on a cheesy accent which does suit the time in which the film is set but apart from that, her character doesn't really contribute anything to the overall progress of the movie. The same is for Channing Tatum. Apart from a stunning dance scene, Tatum does nothing in the film. He is in two scenes and for a film that heavily promoted him, it's underwhelming to realise that he's hardly in it. So whilst the performances are a mixed bag, the Coen Brothers are known for their fantastic ability to tell a  story. Would that it were so simple.

First off, I love how the directing duo was able to incorporate the 1950's style of Hollywood seamlessly. I have a deep fascination of a film detailing of how films are made. It may sound confusing but when done well, I find myself lost in that world. The problems start to rear their ugly head when another storyline begins to appear. Then another. And another. It's like DJ Khaled was an associate scriptwriter and the Coens kept asking him for storylines and his continuing reply was 'Another one'. Before I get into the negative and poor storylines, here are some good ones. The development of Eddie Mannix and seeing him deal with the chaos of Hollywood as well as contacting actors and directors could have been the whole movie and I would have been thoroughly entertained and happy. The scenes moved at a brisk pace and it was very funny. I also loved watching Hobie Doyle switch from his Western routes into a period drama. That made for the funniest scene and interaction as Doyle tries to perfect a particular line with the director. Some may think it drags on too long but if you are a fan of the Coen's particular humour then this scene will appeal to you immensely. Unfortunately, the buck stops there. For a movie billed as a comedy, it really isn't that funny. The main story of this film revolves around Baird Whitlock being captured by a mysterious group known as The Future which causes havoc on the set of a forthcoming film. Avoiding spoilers, the payoff of what the specific motives are and certain twists revealed are just ridiculously weak and immediately lose any form of comedic value. Whenever the film cuts to Baird and his troubles, I was bored stiff. My only hope was waiting for Hobie to appear or for the film to resolve that very quickly and move on from it. It didn't though. Those scenes seemed to drag on forever and had me checking my watch constantly. The dialogue was uninteresting and had little to no wit, something very unusual for the Coen Brothers.

What Hail Caesar lacks in cohesive storytelling, it makes up for in visual spectacle. This is why I deem this film to be a clear example of style over substance. The production team perfectly capture the look and set pieces. Firstly, the costumes look authentic and bright, dazzling us like classic Hollywood would usually do. But the set pieces and choreography is a clear shining point of this film. Two examples are a synchronised swimming scene featuring Scarlett Johansson and a tap dancing scene with Channing Tatum. Both are beautiful to witness and remind us all of those grandiose set pieces from the golden era. The tap dancing sequence is just a sight to behold. I might not fully recommended this film but I was blown away with how fun and joyous that sequence was. Obviously, with Tatum having been a professional dancer, his skill was no surprise but it's clear that he revels in the enjoyment it took to film that scene.

This is undoubtedly not a highlight in the career of the Coen Brothers and Hail, Caesar! did disappoint me. The marketing led me to believe that it will be a film about actors and directors teaming together to find a missing actor when in fact it was just a hodgepodge of various stories that didn't blend with each other at all. Performances are all good and fine and the look of the film is sensational but without a connected story, they just prove fruitless.

My Verdict: 5/10

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