Hail, Caesar! is the new comedy by the Coen Brothers, it is a fictional story however the main character of the film Eddie Mannix did exist and just like the character in the film he was an American film studio executive and producer. However he was most famously known for being a ‘fixer’, which meant he protected Hollywood stars image by disguising details about their private lives. The film was full of famous actors such as George Clooney, Channing Tatum and Scarlet Johansson. In an interview for the film Channing Tatum said “no one turns down a Coen Brothers film”. It appears that the Coen Brothers are hugely respected within the film making industry, I however don’t understand what makes their films so wonderful. I felt in order for me to fully enjoy the film I needed to be a fan of the Coen Brother’s style and their other films. I think a good film director should create a film that can be enjoyed by a variety of audiences, rather than just people that are ‘fans’ of their work.
However the film did have some very clever elements, I enjoyed the idea of a film inside a film, as we as an audience get to learn and see what it takes to create a film. I also enjoyed the period of time it was set that being the 1950’s, I enjoyed seeing the vintage costumes and makeup on the screen. It was also enjoyable seeing how Hollywood stars private lives were protected and it was comical seeing the character of Mannix creating different lies to make the stars seem more respectable, he suggested one star should pretend she adopted her own child because she didn’t have a husband.
Overall the film was great in some aspects, my favourite scene was Scarlet Johansson doing synchronised swimming, I thought the scene was mesmerising and wonderfully choreographed. After watching this film however I do not feel I would choose to go and see another Coen Brother’s film as I found overall the film dragged.
The other film I went to see this week was Deadpool, the film follows the story of an antihero seeking revenge for the man that ruined his life. The character is based on Deadpool from Marvel Comics, his character first featured in a comic in 1991. Although not being a Marvel fan myself, my boyfriend who is a massive fan told me the character stayed very true to how he is portrayed in the comics, he was not censored down which many believed he was going to be. This was very clear to me, I entered the cinema with little excitement about the film as I thought it would be a typical hero vs. villain film, I was very shocked by what it actually was. The film was full of sexual scenes, extreme and graphic violence and it was also very comical.
The films mocking undertone is what I enjoyed most, right from the beginning of the film I began to realise this film was going to be different from other Marvel films. In the credits it said ‘directed by some overpaid producer’. There was also a lot of direct contact with the audience which I enjoyed as all action would stop and Deadpool would turn and talk to the audience. It was also cleverly structured as it didn’t follow a traditional linier style, it jumped back and forward into flashbacks and had Deadpool’s voice over explaining the action.
I feel certain jokes in the film were wasted on me as I have never been a fan of Marvel films and had not read any of the comics, however this didn’t hugely effect my enjoyment of the film. The main thing I didn’t enjoy was all the violence in the film, not only that but how graphic the violence was, at certain points such as when Deadpool was being tortured I felt very uncomfortable watching it and felt myself turning away from the screen. However showing scenes like this did make me grow to hate Deadpool’s enemy and for Deadpool to find him and seek revenge.
Out of the two I definitely much preferred Deadpool, however both films opened my eyes to different types of films I wouldn’t usually choose to watch
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