The Ladykillers

Preview Screening

I don't have a strong memory of the original Ealing film with Alec Guinness (which means I should watch it again) so I came to this film with a fairly open mind. I like the Coen brothers, even if Intolerable Cruelty seemed light in comparison to the rest of their canon, so I have to admit to being intrigued by the concept of them doing a remake with Tom Hanks.

Tom Hanks is Professor G. H. Dorr III Ph.D., the head of a strange group of criminals who intend to rob the safe of a the local casino boat by tunnelling from the basement of house of Marva Munson, church-going widow, cat owner, and landlady to the Professor. When she discovers the crime, the group come to the conclusion that she must disappear. But how do they do it?

The original is a nicely black comedy, and so the thought of the Coens, with their own strong vein of black humour, should work. However, this is not vintage Coens. There are flashes of Coen-ness to the whole thing, certain shots that scream of their touch; I liked the opening shot, the use of a changing portrait to express emotions, and the loquaciousness of Hanks character (although his accent does some time lead to impenetrability). But it doesn't sing like some of their best work, The Big Lebowski being my personal benchmark for them.

It is not an inherently bad film - the Coens off form can still make a film - but it doesn't hold together very well, and mileage may vary. This was particularly the case for me and my girlfriend; she is a fan of the old Ealing version, and hated this film, particularly for the central flaw - in the original, the problem with killing the old lady is that she is nice and the crooks bond with her. In this version, the old lady is quite annoying, so we really don't mind that they want to bump her off.

If I was to say something was great, I would point to the music. Lots of gospel music populates the film and sounds as uplifting and divine as it should. I also rather liked Tom Hanks, even if he is operating in the shadow of Alec Guinness, in an affected performance with little bizarre mannerisms, but it is still strangely watchable. At the end of it all, one is left with the feeling of "What was it all about?" Why would the Coens make this film? They have usually played with old genres, mixing them with their unusual sensibilities: for example, The Big Lebowski was a Raymond Chandler novel as filtered through a stoner worldview while bowling. So, why do bother doing the straight version of an old film? It won't appeal to their fans, and it won't appeal to the mainstream audience that this (and Intolerable Cruelty) were perhaps aimed.

Rating: DA