All action is exaggerated and cartoonish. Characters fall out of a train; get trapped in a burning barn, crash through a wall of fire, engage in fist fights, and are involved in numerous vehicle accidents. The heroes are fired at with an automatic rifle, whacked in the head with a tree branch, whipped, threatened with hanging, and forced to rob a bank. The Ku Klux Klan captures an African-American musician and drags him toward a noose. A villain squashes a toad in his bare hand.
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This film reminds viewers that nostalgia cannot be used to conceal the truth. What appears to be a comic, light-hearted look at the U.S. South almost a century ago in fact uses satire and irony to reveal the deep-seated racism, corruption, and amorality rampant at that time and in that place.
Positive Role Models
very little
No one is safe from the Coen brothers' jaded perspective in this movie. People in politics, commerce, the arts, law enforcement, and religion are all painted with broad strokes as unscrupulous, conscienceless, and illiterate. Even the heroes of the story have a very thin moral code.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this comedy with its outlandish characters, infectious musical score, and slapstick action sequences has multiple levels of appeal. As for issues of concern for teens -- there are lots of swear words ("son-of-a-bitch," "hell's bells," "whore, and "Goddamnit"), many racial slurs ("nigras," "crackers," "darkies"), and a mind-bending Ku Klux Klan musical sequence. Characters (and a few animals) are frequently in jeopardy: trapped in a burning barn, beaten with a tree branch, threatened with hanging, shot at, chased, and more. The racial satire may provoke questions about the United States' history of racism that parents should be prepared to discuss. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
I didn't like the main characters in the original movie referring to Tommy Johnson by using the N word, before they picked him up from the side of the road. Subsequent renditions of the movie have changed that, but I still remember it clear as day. I ask why, if white people hated African Americans so much, would they want their music?
Later in the film at a Klan rally and throughout the film you have white people using African American music. What's that all about?
This Coen brothers' venture is based in part on the Odyssey. But this Ulysses is no war hero from ancient Greece. It is America during the Depression, and Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) is a prisoner on a Mississippi chain gang. He persuades the two men chained to him, Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) to escape so they can get a hidden treasure. They make their way home, meeting up with an assortment of oddball characters, including bank-robbing legend George "Babyface" Nelson. They get some money by singing for a man who records bluegrass. They cross paths with two bitter rivals for the governor's office -- incumbent Governor Menelaus "Pass the Biscuits" Pappy O'Daniel (Charles Durning) and his cronies all have huge bellies, with pants that reach to their chests to be held by suspenders. Opponent Homer Stokes sells himself as a man of the little people who wants to clean house, and he makes campaign appearances with a midget and a broom to show that he means it. McGill and his friends do their best to evade the sheriff and make their way home, amidst washed-out landscapes.
This is a lighter story than many of the Coens' previous movies, which makes it easy to forgive the parts that don't work very well. And it gives us the pleasure of hearing the year's finest soundtrack, sheer bluegrass joy.
Like the Odyssey, the Ulysses of O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU is trying to get home to his wife before she marries one of her suitors. There are other echoes to that classic saga, from a blind seer who predicts that they will not find the treasure they seek to a one-eyed villain and three singing sirens to distract the travelers from their journey. As always, the Coen brothers present an array of quirky characters with faces closer to gargoyles and caricatures than to Hollywood prettiness. And there is the offbeat dialogue -- when Delmar, just baptized, says he has been saved by Jesus and a black guitar player says he just sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads, McGill replies, "Well, I guess I'm the only one who remains unaffiliated."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the story of the Odyssey. How does this movie transform the original story?
Talk about the symbolism of fire and water throughout the movie. What do you think it means?
What is the United States' history of racism and how have things changed (or not) over time?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
