O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?

REVIEWED BY ERIN DAMAN

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: language, sensuality, thematic elements

Rated:

I hadnt heard much about this movie based roughly on Homers Odyssey except how wonderful the soundtrack was, so I didnt know what to expect.  What I ended up seeing was a rather strange, illogical, cuss-word ridden film with a few funny moments.  It didnt, in my opinion and knowledge of Odyssey, resemble the epic tale much at all, only in a few strange characters that seemed out of place in this rather down-home kind of movie. 

On a deserted back road somewhere in rural mid-Depression Mississippi, a chain gang works methodically at their task of crushing rocks.  Little do the dim-witted, unobservant guards know, three of the chained-together convicts, Ulysses Everett McGill, Delmar ODonnell, and Pete have managed to escape.  (How, we never do find out.)  And so begins their pilgrimage.  Destination?  Ulysses' old cabin, where he hid the 1.2 million dollars he stole from an armored car.  (Apparently, not armored enough.)  The catch is, they only have four days before the valley where Ulysses cabin is nestled becomes the bottom of a brand-new reservoir. 

And so, our journeyers head across the fields toward the train tracks, where they meet a strange, blind old man, who cryptically warns them not to seek their treasure.  However, they choose not to heed his words and undauntedly continue on their merry way.  Their first stop is Petes brothers farm, where they can have the chains that bind them together removed and don some less conspicuous garb.  After escaping the farm with Petes brothers truck, they are on the road once more. The first event the threesome encounter is a baptism service at a river.  Pete and Delmar are immersed, thrilled with their new-found salvation.  Ulysses simply mocks them, laughing at their pleads for him to join them.  As the movie goes on, it is obvious that their baptism doesnt change their lifestyles, for they go on stealing and cussing their way towards home.

At a desolate crossroads, they pick up a young black man, Tommy, who claims to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the gift of music.  (One of the many cautions this film contains.)  Tommy informs them he is on his way to a tiny hamlet where there is a man who will pay good money to record some good singing.  Willing to give it a try, the foursome heads into the small studio and performs a nice little song for a nice little sum.  After they collect their pay, they move on, unaware that the song they just recorded is about to become a huge hit. 

Well, Tommy decides to part company with our intrepid trio, and the three ex-cons continue on.  After an encounter with a crazy bank robber, they happen upon three seductive, thinly clad Sirens washing laundry in a river.  As luck would have it, the Sirens have a jug of moonshine in their possession and the boys drink themselves senseless.  Upon awaking from a drunken stupor the next morning, Delmar is horrified to discover that all that is left of Pete is a frog in amidst Petes clothes.  But, time is running out, so Ulysses and Delmar put Pete in a shoebox and press on. Their next adventure comes in the form of a one-eyed Bible salesman, in his line of business only for the money, as is obvious by his behavior.  He invites the two remaining travelers (and the frog) to join him for a picnic in the country.  Once they have enjoyed a leisurely lunch, the salesman wastes no time beating up Ulysses and Delmar, squishing Pete (which is pretty gross) and robbing them blind.  But they dont let that slow them down too much, and soon they find themselves in Ulysses hometown.  What happens in that small town in the last 45 minutes of the film is one twist, turn and misadventure after another.

I must say that the ending isnt very satisfying; you never know if their musical career is continued, and there are several little other loose ends, but nothing too frustratingly inadequate. Language is the major content problem in O Brother, Where Art Thou? with 21 misuses of our Lords name, coupled with profanity 13 times out of 21.  Very disappointing.  There are 29 minor profanities, and 13 SOBs make for a whole lot of bad words. Sensuality is limited to the one scene with the Sirens.  Their behavior is very seductive and their clothing is pretty revealing but there is no nudity.  There is also some implied fornication. I didnt catch innuendo in this movie but some could have gone over my head. There is some violence, as mentioned above, with the salesman beating Ulysses and Delmar. There is quite a bit of blood, which is kind of icky, but they are both OK.  There is some violence when they crash a KKK meeting, where they intend to hang Tommy.  Though there is some violence, there is never any gore and it is never graphic.  

For you animal lovers, a frog gets squished, which has some icky sound effects.  (It doesnt show anything, though.)  Also, a bank robber shoots some cows.  There is a little blood, but nothing gross.  A cow gets hit at high speed but again, no gore. Another concern is the way Christians are portrayed.  As I mentioned, Ulysses mocks Delmar and Pete for getting baptized, but the real insult comes when Ulysses, in a desperate moment, prays for a miracle, gets it, and then says it wasnt a miracle, there is a logical explanation for what happened.  So, although baptism and prayer are seen, they arent given much honor or respect. 

All in all, this movie was pretty strange.  There were just enough elements of Homers Odyssey to make it strange, but not enough to make it work well altogether.  There were some hilarious moments, but I dont feel there were enough to compensate for the large amount of bad language.  George Clooney did an excellent job, and his character was hilarious, but because of the language I cant honestly recommend this film.  There was also a lot of stealing done, namely cars, chickens, and pigs.  But, the boys never suffer any consequences for doing wrong, setting a poor and inaccurate example.  Sometimes it is hard to understand what some people are saying because of their heavy Southern accents, but you dont miss anything too important.

An interesting point, however, is the lighting through out the entire movie.  Its very different, but I liked it.  Everything had a kind of golden cast to it.  The colors were softened, giving the overall picture a kind of sepia-film look.  Also, all you Dr. Quinn fans, keep your eyes open for the man who plays Horace, as he plays a small part in the movie.  The soundtrack was very good, considering I dont even really care for that kind of music.  Several of the songs are spirituals, so I quite enjoyed the musical aspect of the film. To be honest, the movie was a bit of a disappointment.  If you want humor and adventure, with romance and without excessive swearing, Id give The Princess Bride or The Scarlet Pimpernel a try instead.  O Brother, Where Art Thou? turned out to be simply oh, brother