Does anybody else think this is a nasty, cold-blooded movie?

I haven't seen in quite some time Mr. H, but I don't recall being overly impressed. I don't even recall the scene you have mentioned and I am not a big fan of the Coen Bros films. I have to be in the mood to watch them and then usually wish that I was watching something else.

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To me it isn't an issue because I am always aware that it is fictional, all a very dark comedy with a good ending message, good winning over evil. Had this been a documentary then I would find it all very disturbing.

..*.. TxMike ..*..

I never got the impression that the Coens expected or invited the viewer to laugh with the kidnappers in that scene; at any rate, the musical score playing underneath it offers a rather different, mournful mood. I didn't think it was funny.



"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan

If you want a less dark Coen Bros film you should try watching oh brother where art though or raising Arizona.

1, 2 Freddy's coming for you. 3, 4 better lock your door.

It would be disturbing to laugh at her attempt to escape if this was a true story but it wasn't.

I found a lot of the movie funny, but not that scene. And I did not hear anyone in the cinema laughing, though there was a lot of laughter during the rest of the movie.

The film says two things about all three criminals: they are stupid, and are very unpleasant people. Many of the scenes that show the stupidity are funny, those showing how mean and selfish they are are not.

I think that is true to life, many criminals are mean and stupid.

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I'll try to explain why this movie works for me, and why I consider it a masterpiece, at least their masterpiece. It is cold [i]in that 7 people are killed (6 of which are shown, and the 7th in her aftermath), and of course, you have the cold, snowy Minnesota/North Dakota snowscape. That said (and I generally don't like violent films), I found everything about the film compelling and didn't find their approach to the film to be cold.

To me, the parody of (mostly) Minnesota culture felt like they were having fun, as opposed to making fun of the people. This made a big difference. Usually, I don't laugh off violence, but the mix of the gravity of the situation and the somewhat implausible (yet understandable) unraveling of events just worked well. The music, cinematography, terrific screenplay and brilliant acting elevated this film into much more than it could have been.

Of the Coen Brothers movies I've seen, this is easily at the top, followed by The Big Lebowski. After that, they are hit-and-miss for me, or their films inspired mixed feelings. For example, No Country For Old Men did not work for me; I only saw it once, and don't plan on revisiting it.