“O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?” is a film produced by the Coen brothers that is believed to be based on Homer’s “Odyssey”. The movie is about three escaped convicts who are set out to find a buried treasure that will soon be lost when the area is flooded. The movie is packed full of symbolism that reflects the themes of Homer’s story while still maintaining their own original style. Although some critics may disagree, The Cinematography is spectacular, The music is memorable, and George Clooney’s acting is intriguing.
The Cinematography in “O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?” is spectacular. As stated by A. O.Scott from The New York Times “The World on screen is one we intuitively recognize,even as it’s geography seems askew.” Scott also states,“With help of the cinematographer Roger Deakins, who composes beige and ocher landscapes that look simultaneously lush and austere, the brothers have made the American South into a gauzy dreamland.” What Scott means by this is that the movie was shot in a way that is familiar to us even though really it is twisted. Deakins makes the film into an earthy pigment to make the movie fit into the theme of the Film. Movie critic Kim Newman has positive comments towards the cinematography in “O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?”. Newman states that the film is, “Confidently cinematic in classical and modern terms, layered with subtleties but also a straight-ahead, crowd-pleasing comedy, with more witty lines and bits of visual imagination than a dozen regular movies” She is saying that the cinematography was done very well. The film was shot in a theme that was not only classic but modern which is a good mix. The film was shot with sophistication. It had more visual imagination that left the viewers wanting more compared to many other movies. The opinions of Scott and Newman are similar They both think that the cinematography does a good job pleasing the audience. Although Scott focuses more on the effects and the colors of the cinematography, Newman really focuses on how the cinematography comes into play in the movie. I think that the cinematography does a great job bringing out the theme and time frame of the movie! The Music in O’ Brother, Where Art Thou? as stated in The New York Times article is mix between old-time gospel, blues, and country music. Scott from the The New York Times talks about the song “Man of Constant Sorrow” in “O’ Brother Where Art thou?”. Scott says, “The song transcends jokiness or kitsh. Along with a dozen other carefully selected tunes. . . “Man Of Constant Sorrow” provides “O’ Brother Where Art Thou” with an emotional resonance that would otherwise be missing.” What Scott means by this is that the songs really relate the screwball effect that the movie has. The songs have this jokiness feeling to them that to some extent are almost in poor taste but we set that aside and in the end we really appreciate the music in an ironic way. He also states, “ The music also provides the key to the film’s peculiar blend of fantasy, humor and pathos.” What Scott is saying is that the music really leaves us feeling not only humored but at the same time leaves us to feel some sort of pity or sadness. It brings out that variety of emotions in us. In Roger Ebert’s review of “O’ Brother where Art Thou?” Ebert says “Bluegrass music is at the heart of the film” what Ebert means by this is that the bluegrass music has a big part in the movie. When you hear these songs in the scenes you can just picture the images of the chain gangs, cotton fields, populist politicians, river baptisms, hobos on the freight trains and so on. Both of these reviews feel that the music did a great job connecting to the theme of the movie. Even though Ebert feels that the music is strongly bluegrass music and Scott feels that the music is a mix between old-time gospel, blues, and country music. The reviews are still pretty similar in opinion. I agree with the connections that both of
