O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000): ****

Loosely based on Homer’s Odyssey, O Brother, Where Art Thou? follows escaped convicts Everett (George Clooney), Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) in Mississippi during the Great Depression. They are on a journey to claim Everett’s hidden loot, from a robbery Everett committed before he was incarcerated, before the buried treasure is lost to a flood in four days’ time. Everett, Pete and Delmar will face many difficulties on their journey, from evading the authorities, making it to the treasure in time and the weird people they met along the way. 

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is about the pursuit of hope with human follies acting as the obstacles that stand in its way. Everett and Delmar want to return to their old life, when Pete is denied the chance to return to his family, he dreams of becoming a respected maître d’. Delmar and Pete take the opportunity to absolve themselves of their sins, but Everett refuses to participate, declaring himself an intelligent, logical man. However, all three men often run into trouble, often caused by or rescued from by smart-mouth Everett. Everett and Delmar are deceived by a one-eyed Bible salesman called Dan Teague (John Goodman), who claims he can teach them how to make money by selling hope. Peter, Delmar and Everett abandon their journey when they hear enticing singing by three ladies in the river.

The film is set in a time where the people simultaneously wants a change for the better, but seek solace in the past, represented most prominently in the popularity of the ‘old-time music’ amongst the characters in O Brother, Where Art Thou?. The Mississippi governor candidates Pappy (Charles Durning) and Stokes (Wayne Duvall) organise musical performances to gather support for their campaign. Everett, Pete, Delmar and on-off companion Tommy (Chris Thomas King) unknowingly become famous after recording the song ‘A Man of Constant Sorrow’, under the name The Soggy Bottom Boys to make some quick money. Music is a powerful force in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, it allows the characters to briefly forget their troubles, change their fortunes or will lead them astray. The film’s soundtrack, produced by T-Bone Burnett, is an audio snapshot of Depression-era Mississippi, full of gospel, blues and folk music. Each song is used effectively in O Brother, ‘A Man of Constant Sorrow’ acts as the keystone to both the soundtrack and the film itself.  

Roger Deakins’s cinematography captures the expansive landscape of the South. The roads stretch out for forever; the fields are a dry sea which our protagonists are swallowed up in. The colour tone of O Brother ranges from a warm grey through brown to burnt yellow, conveying the Southern heat with a tinted effect suggesting the older time period of the film. Joel and Ethan Coen’s screenplay plays fast and loose with the adaptation of The Odyssey, only using the basic story and a few of the creatures faced by Odysseus in O Brother overtly mentioned, chiefly the sirens and the Cyclops. There is an absurdity to the dialogue, with lines are often repeated in a scene and call backed later on in the film. The humour is dark and focuses on the idiosyncrasies of the characters, particularly with Everett, who is obsessed with using the Dapper Dan pomade and being verbose. 

George Clooney captures the many facets to his character Ulysses Everett, someone who openly scorns superstitious beliefs but is willing to humour his companions from time to time. There is an element of knowingness to his performance, whether he is taking part in the broader physical comedy or rolling his eyes at a daft comment. John Turturro does a fine job as Pete, although he doesn’t have as much to do as he has in previous roles with the Coen Brothers. Tim Blake Nelson plays Delmar as sweetly dumb with moments of directness; also he has a good singing voice in the song ‘In the Jailhouse’. Holly Hunter is amusing as the no nonsense ex-wife of Everett, who won’t stand for Everett to just slide back into her life. John Goodman is menacing as Dan Teague, with wolf-like hearing and who loves to hear himself talk just as much as Everett does. 

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a soulful film about three men’s journey to seek their fortune, with a magnificent soundtrack and beautifully coloured cinematography.