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The Lobby Observer

The Student News Site of Westborough High School

The Lobby Observer

The Student News Site of Westborough High School

The Lobby Observer

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A Standout Film: ‘Hail, Caesar!’

Source%3A+Aqualillies.com
Source: Aqualillies.com

By Joe Liebert

Rating: 7.5/10

Source: Aqualillies.com
Source: Aqualillies.com

With its stacked cast and reputable directors, I knew I was about to watch a great film as I went in to see “Hail, Caesar!” However, even though I had high expectations for the movie, I wasn’t exactly sure of what kind of movie I was going to be presented with. The trailer was confusing in the sense that I couldn’t tell if the movie was a mystery, comedy, drama, or any combination of the three. As it turned out, the movie was more hilarious than dramatic and surprisingly didn’t use mystery as a main part of the film, despite one of the major plotlines being about a kidnapping.

“Hail, Caesar!” follows a day in the life of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a Hollywood ‘fixer’ in the 1950’s as he tries to resolve the kidnapping of one of the studio’s top actors, Baird Whitlock (George Cloony), amidst other problems cropping up from other actors and directors at the studio. Brolin’s character must keep the kidnapping and the other problems from twin gossip columnists Thora and Thessaly Thacker (both played by Tilda Swinton). Scarlett Johansson plays DeeAnna Moran, a newly pregnant actress who doesn’t know who the father is: another potential scandal. Burt Gurney (Channing Tatum) is a singing and dancing actor who isn’t exactly what he seems. Problems arise when a sophisticated English director (Ralph Fiennes) is forced to work with an unpolished cowboy-turned-actor (Alden Ehrenreich).

The plot of the film is disjointed and confusing at times. Many different plotlines all progress at the same time, despite seemingly having nothing to do with one another until the end of the movie. Although it’s fun to watch, I had a hard time keeping up with what was going on throughout the film. At times, it seemed like random scenes were just cut out of the movie, leaving holes in the plot and leaving the audience confused. Individually, the scenes are fantastic, but often they don’t really contribute to an overall story.

All in all, the acting in “Hail, Caesar!” is very well done. All of the actors and actresses take on the role of 1950’s actors and actresses perfectly. Clooney’s character is hilariously dumb, while Fiennes’ acting makes him downright fun to watch. The acting in the film is one of the major draws, and considering the confusing plot, it’s really one of the main things that makes the movie worth watching. The cinematography is amazingly well done as well.

Despite its confusing plot, “Hail, Caesar!” is a hilarious film that is really fun to watch. The A+ acting, as well as the amazing directing from the Coen brothers, make this a movie that’s definitely worth your while.

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    Robin LiebertSep 18, 2016 at 10:08 pm

    I loved Joe’s review, made me go to see this Coen brothers once again win!

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