I personally think the Coen brothers' movies are overrated. Sure, I haven't seen a really bad movie from them, but I haven't seen a really outstanding one either. My problem with "Burn After Reading" is my complete lack of connection or sympathy to any of the characters on screen. To me it felt like puppets involved in trying to move a vehicle of a complex plot which tries to be smart and make a point in criticism of society, or structures of power, or the hidden violence in people, or whatever... But - I did not feel any of the characters was a real person. Clooney came the closest and likely if the movie focused more on him, and got rid of some irrelevant threads, it could have had much more impact. As it is, it just scratches the surface and stays among the "average" flicks which I think is sometimes even worse than the real bad ones. Those at least manage to produce some feelings. This one doesn't, at least for me.
Review of Burn After Reading
