Burn After Reading (15)**** - Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich and Tilda Swinton.
THE Coen brothers’ latest film, after their majestic and rather sombre No Country For Old Men, sees them back at their deliciously quirky best in a movie that almost defies definition and genre.
It’s part spoof, part screwball comedy with a stellar cast seemingly having a ball.
Burn After Reading has a hint of George Clooney’s terrific directorial debut, the cruelly under-rated Confessions Of A Dangerous Minds, about it.
Things hot up when the explosive memoirs of alcoholic former CIA analyst Ozzie Cox (John Malkovich) find their way into the hands of unlucky in love gym instructor Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) and hapless colleague Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt).
Thrown into the mix is Clooney’s character Harry Pfarrer, an oversexed married federal marshal with a cheese allergy and penchant for internet dating a succession of women, one of whom includes Linda.
It’s a weird and wacky mix that delivers a lot of off-the-wall laughs that may not be everyone’s cup of tea but one can’t fault the Coens’ ambition to stick their necks out.
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