Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and Julianne Moore in the Coen Brothers movie ‘The Big Lebowski’

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen were inspired by the work of Raymond Chandler to write and direct the movie The Big Lebowski (1998). As older brother Joel Coen was quoted in an archived article of IndieWire referenced here, the Coen Brothers “wanted to do a Chandler kind of story – how it moves episodically, and deals with the characters trying to unravel a mystery, as well as having a hopelessly complex plot that’s ultimately unimportant.”

(From left, Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey ‘The Dude’ Lebowski, Steve Buscemi as Theodore Donald ‘Donny’ Kerabatsos and John Goodman as Walter Sobchak in the Coen Brothers movie The Big Lebowski).

Slacker and bowler Jeffrey ‘The Dude’ Lebowski, as portrayed by Jeff Bridges, opens The Big Lebowski as the victim of a crime in his own Los Angeles, California home. Pornography magnate Jackie Treehorn, as portrayed by Ben Gazzara, sends two enforcers after Lebowski to collect on the debts incurred by what the enforcers believe is the Dude’s wife. It’s only after harassing the Dude and damaging his property that the enforcers realize they’ve found the wrong Jeffrey Lebowski.

(From left, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt and David Huddleston as Jeffrey ‘The Big’ Lebowski in the Coen Brothers movie The Big Lebowski).

The appropriate man is, of course, Jeffrey ‘The Big’ Lebowski as portrayed by David Huddleston. After discussing the matter with bowling buddies Walter Sobchak and Theodore Donald ‘Donny’ Kerabatsos, as portrayed by John Goodman and Steve Buscemi respectively, the Dude confronts the Big at the Big’s mansion. The affluent Jeffrey abusively dismisses his slacker namesake in response to a request for restitution. Before encountering Bunny Lebowski as portrayed by Tara Reid when departing the mansion, the Dude uses trickery to convince Brandt as portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman to allow him, that is Dude, to take property from the mansion as recompense for the Dude’s trouble.

(From left, Julianne Moore as Maude Lebowski and Tara Reid as Bunny Lebowski in the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen movie The Big Lebowski).

Extending the comedy of absurdity further, Bunny is soon considered kidnapped. The affluent Lebowski hires the Dude to rectify that situation with a briefcase reportedly full of money. Franz, Uli Kunkel and Kieffer, as portrayed by Torsten Voges, Peter Stormare and Flea retrieve the property taken by the Dude owing to the fond feelings that Maude Lebowski, as portrayed by Julianne Moore, has for that property.

(From left, Torsten Voges as Franz, Peter Stormare as Uli Kunkel & Karl Hungus and Flea as Kieffer in the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen movie The Big Lebowski).

In addressing the supposed kidnapping, absurd craziness ensues at the behest of Jeffrey ‘the Big’ Lebowski through the hands of Walter Sobchak. The exchange of money for the life goes horribly wrong, with the money getting stolen at the bowling alley later that night. As the comically absurd sequence extends further, we encounter Jesus Quintana as portrayed by John Turturro and The Stranger as portrayed by Sam Elliott for commentaries regarding different aspects of the story that unravels in front of us. The insinuation of Maude Lebowski at seemingly odd times and in bold ways through the unfolding of the mystery adds to the theatre of comedy that this movie presents.

(Sam Elliott as The Stranger in the Joel Coen and Ethan Coen movie The Big Lebowski).

Through the episodic and humorously explicit charm of the wild scenes of the movie, the expressively lighthearted way the Dude abides the comedy of what happens around him proves to be the charm that makes the movie work. Jeff Bridges really pulls off the feel good comedy of that part with skill. I grant The Big Lebowski as written and directed by the Coen Brothers 4.0-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Movie Review for Live By Night (2016)

Live By Night (2016) is a crime drama set largely in America during the era of Prohibition in the United States. The film follows on the heels of the 2012 book by the same title, which was referenced in this book review by Matt Lynn Digital.

 (Chris Messina as Dion Bartolo, left, and Ben Affleck as Joe Coughlin, right)

Ben Affleck played Joe Coughlin in the movie adaptation of the book Live By Night, which introduced us to the central question of family and whether a gangster can remain moral. The clear answer is no, though the notion of ethics is strong in this movie as well as the Dennis Lehane book. Affleck wrote the screenplay, produced the film, and obviously served as a central star within the action. The tension between Coughlin and his father, a corrupted former Boston police captain damaged by a long string of willfulness and his son Joe’s occupation, are treated in an upfront if understated way in the film.

(Brendan Gleeson as Thomas Coughlin, the father of Ben Affleck‘s character Joe Coughlin)

The film begins in Boston during a stick-up, wherein Joe Coughlin swears revenge on a love interest of a love interest that motivates Coughlin to run liquor in the Cuban section of Tampa, Florida known as Ybor City. To do so, Coughlin goes to work for Maso Pescatore, whose relationship to Thomas Coughlin is diminished in the on-screen portrayal given the pair in this movie. While the nuance here isn’t necessarily important to the larger story, the full dynamic between the two Coughlin’s is lost. A comparative examination of the Coughlins to Mason and Digger Pescatore is also lost.

(Remo Girone as Maso Pescatore)

The relationship between Loretta Figgis and Chief Figgis of the Tampa Police are given slightly more treatment in the movie than they received in the book. That is, the ultimate fate of the the police chief in this father/daughter relationship exceeds that for which we were given by Dennis Lehane in the book.

(Dennis Lehane, author of the book Live By Night)

An entanglement between Maso Pescatore, Joe Coughlin, and the two Figgis’ does get a fair and full treatment from the movie and the book. The revenge angle that Coughlin had with mobster Albert White is given short shrift in the movie, ultimately leading to the elevation of Chief Figgis in the movie.

(Elle Fanning as Loretta Figgis)

Largely, the movie adaptation of Live By Night suffered from some of the same focus problems that existed in the movie. That is, both tried to be too many things. As pointed out by a Ted Kluck review in the Jackson Sun of Tennessee, “in part because [the movie] couldn’t decide whether to be a thinky art-piece or a traditional shoot-’em-up gangster movie[,]….it failed to be either.”

(Chris Cooper as Chief Figgis)

The characters largely end up with the proper disposition at the end of the movie, meaning that they were true to the book. I personally prefer for things to work out like that between books and movies, inasmuch as the larger narrative of characters get to be explored fully. I enjoyed the movie, though I will say that the movie falls short of some of the best in the genre. For readers of the book, you owe yourself a viewing of the movie.

Matt – Wednesday, August 1, 2018