Reviews > Burn After Reading

Coen brothers follow up to their award winning No Country for Old Men is no surprise for this left of center filmmaking duo - its complete opposite. A sort of Fargo on speed. Burn is a crazed crime caper about two dim witted gym employees (Pitt & McDormand) who try to extort a disgruntled CIA agent (Malkovich). When they come across a CD - Rom with important classified information on it.
All sorts of hijinks ensue in this dark comedy a modern day cat & mouse chase when intelligence meets absurd stupidity fueled by greed. Malkovich steals the show with severe anger managment issues dropping the F word every five minutes in the film. It’s a nonstop laugh ride McDormand proves she can play comedy. Pitt out does himself in this role almost cartoon like with the dumbness.
This film is a nonstop ride you won’t want to end but what would you expect from the Coen brothers, the masters of quirky storytelling.

Neal Damiano
Film Journalist