Like a large lunatics’ party held by George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand, “Burn After Reading” is not better than other movies written and directed by the Coens (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen). But I should say, as a movie related to high intelligence, national security, international relationships and various individuals, it is unique. To me, its suspenseful story line, delicate dialogues and the Coens’ black humours made “Burn After Reading” a success.
The start of the movie has already attracted me. The long shot of the white corridor of CIA headquarter created a . The main characters’ first appearances are wonderful. In the first minute, Osbourne Cox, a high-class officer occupied in CIA lost his job because of drinking. Thus he started writing a memoirs to disclose scandals of CIA. At the same time, his wife Katie kept dating with Harry, a government official who held on to running exact 5 kilometers every day, and planned to divorce him. In parallel with that, Linda, a staff of Hardbodies Fitness Center, was always eager for a liposuction and a face-lifting, but lacked money. With Chad, another staff of Hardbodies, Brought together by “Be With Me”, an online matchmaking site, Linda started date with Harry. From that, destiny brought people seemed unrelated to each other together gradually. In order to know Osbourne’s financial condition before getting divorced, Katie searched his laptop and downloaded his memoirs into a CD. Incautiously, she forgot it on the locker floor of Hardbodies, and Linda’s colleague Chad found it. Looking into the files in that, Chad affirmed they found something confidential, and Linda thought her liposuction operation fee is promised. With Linda and Chad’s actions including sending the CD to Russian Embassy, the story became more and more fascinating.
I cannot believe that there existed such a possibility that an international affair started from a woman’s lack of liposuction operation expense. But it was indeed possible in the Coens’ imagination. I cannot prevent from laughing when the so-called confidential files got close attention of both American and Russian intelligence departments, and was bound to give rise to an international dispute. What an excellent black humor, which was beyond all my expectations. Handled as this, tragedy is not a tragedy but laughable, while comedy made people stop laughing on the halfway.
Another lightspot lay on the actors and actresses’ acting. I have never thought of that Brad Pitt and George Clooney, the most charming men in the Hollywood, devoted such exaggerated performances to their lunatic roles. All of Brad’s lines included the word “shit”, as well as Clooney, and his was “fuck”. Added with their neurotic expressions and behaviours, they started to become real actors in my heart.
At the end, the manager of CIA eventually found what happened on earth. The fact was that the whole CIA had been tricked by a stupid woman who wanted to get money for her cosmetics surgeries. “What did we learn, Palmer?” “I don’t know, sir.” “I don’t fucking know either. I guess we learned not to do it again.” “Yes, sir.” “I’m fucked, if I know what we did.” “yes, sir. Huh it’s hard to say.” “Jesus fucking Christ.” I like this ending. It made me feel strange either be sad or be pleased. Thus normal viewers can only choose to laugh until tears come.
