Hail, Caesar! follows the daily life of a PR man who must solve many behind the scenes issues with the various talent at Capitol Pictures, a movie studio at the height of it's powers. I've been looking forward to Hail, Caesar! since the first trailer released for the film hoping it would be similar in tone to The Grand Budapest Hotel, even though I was completely aware that different directors were behind both projects. So as may be apparent from the date I'm publishing this review, the combination of school and work as well as releases of films I was anticipating a bit more constantly delayed me from seeing the film. The delay however has allowed me to see the general response to the film, which was unlike any I had ever seen. In this case, I've noticed that critics enjoyed it and audiences hated it, and having seen the film I think I might have discovered why that is. The film boasts a star studded ensemble cast that's filled to the brim with great talent. However, the cast is used sparingly with a few actors relegated to a few scenes sprinkled throughout the film and I think that's one of the issues that audiences have with the film. They saw the name talent that compelled them to see the film and were disappointed by the underuse of some of these actors. I'm going to discuss them in order of actors who were on screen the least to the more important characters. Most notably absent was Jonah Hill, who is relegated to a one scene cameo yet is featured prominently on the poster and quite a bit in the promotional material for the film. However Hill's role does service the narrative in a small capacity and he's great for his minute on screen. Ralph Fiennes plays the snide Hollywood Drama director Laurence Lorenz, which works perfectly juxtaposing with Alden Ehrenreich's western star Hobie Doyle forced into drama as the studio attempts to change his image. This allows for a hilarious scene between the two where Lorenz is trying to get Hobie to correctly say a line, which Hobie is unable to do. This gag runs a bit long but it only gets funnier and funnier. Fiennes is limited to a few scenes but fantastic in the capacity used. Scarlett Johansson gets to take on the role of DeeAnna Moran, an Esther Williams esque actress, enduring some personal problems of her own that the studio wants to sweep under the rug. Johansson is primarily featured in a mermaid synchronized swimming sequence that's just a delight that leads into a particularly funny bit in the film. So she's restricted to about two or three scenes but also great when onscreen. Tilda Swinton gets to play twin rival journalists, Thora and Thessaly Thacke, who are trying their best to get an intriguing scoop about one of the studio's stars and she's the perfect balance of irritating and snoopy for both characters. Swinton is brilliant as usual but utilized conservatively in the film with a few scenes sprinkled around. Channing Tatum plays a Gene Kelly type as Burt with a spectacular tap dance and song number. Tatum continues to impress me again and again, first proving he can be a comedic and action star in the Jump Street movies, and now getting to flex more of his musical talents. I'm aware Tatum's acting career began with dancing in the Step Up films but tap dancing is a whole other animal that requires rhythmic precision. I was amazed at Tatum's abilities on display for the sequence and he also shocked me when I learned he could carry a tune as well. Channing Tatum's character is an interesting case as I can't go into too much detail without spoiling the film but he has one scene that had me laughing hysterically throughout. On the flip side of that, there are the members of the cast that carry the narrative focusing on George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, and Josh Brolin. George Clooney gets to play the dunce movie star, Baird Whitlock, who is kidnapped in the film by a nefarious secret organization, which makes for an intriguing reveal that at times allows for some effective comedy. Alden Ehrenreich, who I mentioned a bit earlier, plays the cowboy western star Hobie Doyle and is surprisingly a standout among the cast with great comedic timing and heart. Josh Brolin is perfect as Capitol Pictures' studio fixer, Eddie Mannix, and really the main character of the film as it follows a day in his hectic life. Speaking of this, the film feels very unfocused which is certainly a problem but after I saw the film I realized that this is to reflect how insane Mannix's life is because of the crazy talent he must deal with on a daily basis. Conclusively, if you are interested in Hail, Caesar! because of the cast, I'd be very wary. The cinematography, score, and direction are all standard and effective but nothing particularly stood out to me. The Coen Brother's do a fine job and achieve what they set out to do with the film as they clearly are fascinated with 1950's Hollywood. Another strange thing was the style of editing that would would randomly jump from one part of the story to another without the proper groundwork and foundation to understand what is going on initially. In summary, the Coen Brothers created a strange love letter to old, classic 1950's Hollywood that I'd recommend for rental or home media purchase as opposed to checking out in theaters.
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