Film Review: "Hail, Caesar!" (2016).

"Lights. Camera. Abduction." This is Hail, Caesar! This comedy film written, produced, edited, and directed by the Coen Brothers. The film centres on Eddie Mannix, a fixer for Capitol Pictures in Hollywood, deals with a pregnant starlet, gossip columnists and a kidnapped movie star even as he considers an attractive job offer, all in a single day.

In 1999, during filming of O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), the Coens fist mentioned the idea to George Clooney. But the project remained dormant until December 2013, in which the Coens mentioned that it would be their next film after Inside Llewyn Davis. In May 2014, the Coens reconfirmed the film's development. The film would examine the transitional time for the film industry. The studio system was breaking down, and a Supreme Court ruling had forced studios to divest their movie theaters. Television, then still in its early years, threatened to pull away audiences. The Cold War and the Red Scare were both underway. Hollywood responded by creating escapist fare: westerns, highly choreographed dance and aquatic spectacles, and Roman epics with massive casts. Costume designer Mary Zophres began work twelve weeks ahead of shooting, researching period wardrobe from the late 1940s on the assumption that most people routinely wear clothes purchased over the past few years. She designed for a working film studio of the early 1950s, plus six genre films, each of which featured a major actor working on the set for about a week. Photos from the MGM library and the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences showed that film crews dressed more formally than today—no shorts or sneakers. Zophres produced about 15 boards of preliminary sketches, including "sculptural Technicolor gowns" for the ballroom drama that were inspired by the work of Charles James. The film ultimately required more than 2,500 costumes, including 170 Roman extras, 120 Israelites and about 45 slaves. About 500 of the costumes were custom-made. Toward the end of the shoot, the scope of the project overtook the budget, and Zophres completed some of the sewing herself. By early November, Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, Alden Ehrenreich, Jonah Hill, Alison Pill, Wayne Knight, Christopher Lambert, Clancy Brown, Robert Picardo, Dolph Lundgren, and Michael Gambon were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced, and took place in Los Angeles, California. It was shot on 35mm film in both the 1.37: 1 and 1.85: 1 aspect ratios.

Terrific performances were given by the cast. Brolin gave a solid performance as a fixer. Clooney hammed it up, in a good way, as the hammy actor. Fiennes was commanding as the director. Johansson and Ehrenreich were comical as the actress.swimmer and singing cowboy. Finally, Tatum pulled as a singer in addition to being an actor and dancer.

Twisty and unsettling, the Coen brothers' satirical tale of a 1950s Hollywood fixer is packed with their trademark sense of humour and terrific performances from its cast.

Simon says Hail, Caesar! receives:

Also, see my review for Inside Llewyn Davis.