"HAIL, CAESAR!" (2016) Review

"HAIL, CAESAR!" (2016) Review

When I first that Joel and Ethan Coen was about to release a new film, I rejoiced. When I learned that this new movie - called "HAIL, CAESAR!" - would be set in old Hollywood, my joy increased. Then I discovered that this new film would be released in February of this year. And . . . my anticipation decreased. Somewhat. 

Now, why would my anticipation for "HAIL, CAESAR!" dampened after learning about its release date? Simple. February is one of those months that is considered by the movie industry as the graveyard for second-rate films. A Coen Brothers film set in February. This did not sit well with me. But my enthusiasm had not dampened enough for me to forgo "HAIL, CAESAR!". I simply had to see it.

"HAIL, CAESAR!" is the fictional story about one day in the life of Eddie Mannix, the head of "physical productions" at Capitol Pictures and a "fixer" who keeps the scandalous behavior of its stars out of the press. The Lockheed Corporation has been courting him with an offer of a high-level executive position, but he is unsure about taking it. While Mannix contemplates a career change, he has to deal with the following problems for his studio:

*Unmarried synchronized swimming actress DeeAnna Moran becomes pregnant and Mannix has to make arrangements for her to put the baby in foster care and then adopt it without revealing herself as the mother.

*Mannix is ordered by the studio's honchos to change the image of cowboy singing star Hobie Doyle, by casting him in a sophisticated drama directed by Laurence Laurentz. Unfortunately, Hobie seems uncomfortable in starring in a movie that is not a Western and gives an inept performance.

*While fending off the inquiries of twin sisters and rival gossip columnists, Thora and Thessaly Thacker, the former threatens to release an article about a past scandal involving Capitol Pictures veteran star Baird Whitlock and Laurentz, when they made a movie together some twenty years earlier.

*Mannix's biggest problem revolve around Whitlock being kidnapped, while filming one of Capitol Pictures' "A" productions, an Imperial Roman drama called "Hail, Caesar!". A ransom note soon arrives, written by a group calling itself "The Future", who are a group of Communist screenwriters, demanding $100,000 for their cause.

There were a good deal about "HAIL, CAESAR!" that I enjoyed. Primarily, I enjoyed the fact that the movie was set during the Golden Age of Hollywood and that it was about the Hollywood industry during that period. I enjoyed the fact that this was one Old Hollywood movie that was not a murder mystery, a biopic about the rise and downfall of some actor, actress or director. And I was especially relieved that it was no borderline nihilist portrayal of Hollywood like 1975's "THE DAY OF THE LOCUST". I had no desire to walk out of theater, harboring a desire to blow out my brains. Instead, the Coens' film gave audiences a peek into a Hollywood studio circa 1951 with a good deal of irony and humor.

Out of the five story arcs presented in the film, I really enjoyed three of them - namely those story lines that focused on Hobie Doyle, DeeAnna Moran and Mannix's new job offer. Although I suspect that the DeeAnna Moran character was at best, a superficial take on Esther Williams, I believe the storyline regarding the character's pregnancy was based upon what happened to Loretta Young in the mid-1930s. I found this story arc mildly enjoyable, thanks to Scarlett Johansson's funny performance as the blunt-speaking DeeAnna. But I would not regard it as the movie's highlight. I also found the story arc about Mannix's new job offer from Lockheed mildly interesting. There almost seemed to be a "would he or wouldn't he" aura about this story arc. As any film historian knows, the real Eddie Mannix never received a job offer from Lockheed. Then again, he worked at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), not the fictional Capitol Pictures. And he was married twice with no kids, not married once with kids. So, at one point, I did find myself wondering if the events of the day would drive this Mannix into accepting Lockheed's offer.

However, I felt that one of the movie's real highlight centered around the Hobie Doyle and Capitol Pictures' efforts to turn the singing cowboy into a dramatic actor. Why? It was funny. Hilarious. Not only did Alden Ehrenreich give a rather enduring performance as the charming Hobie Doyle, he was funny . . . very funny in one particular sequence. In fact, I could say the same about Ralph Fiennes, who portrayed the elegant director Laurence Laurentz tasked into transforming Hobie into a dramatic actor. I did not find this scene mildly amusing, as I did many of the film's other scenes. Instead, watching Laurentz trying to direct the limited and very awkward Hobie in a sophisticated drama nearly had laughing in the aisle. Both Ehrenreich and Fiennes were incredibly funny and talented. The other highlight proved to be Josh Brolin's performance as the much put upon Eddie Mannix. Brolin did an excellent job of carrying the film on his shoulders. More importantly, he gave a tight and subtle performance that allowed his character to serve as the backbone to all of the surrounding chaos.

"HAIL, CAESAR!" was set in 1951, a time when the Hollywood studio system was going through a traumatic shake-up. And this period was definitely reflected in two story arcs - Mannix's job offer and the kidnapping of Baird Whitlock. However, a part of me wishes that the movie had been set in the 1930s - especially the early 1930s, when Hollywood was battling the censors and the Great Depression. Oh well, we cannot have everything. But I was not that particularly impressed regarding the story line involving Mannix's concerns over Thora Thacker's knowledge about some past scandal regarding Baird Whitlock. Why? The movie's screenplay barely focused upon it. The entire story arc was wasted. And so was Tilda Swinton. I find this doubly sad, considering that Swinton gave a sharp and funny performance as the Thacker twins. Instead, the Coens used the Baird Whitlock character for another story arc - the one centered around his kidnapping at the hands of a group of Communist writers and a Communist contract player named Burt Gurney. 

I might as well put my cards on the table. This story line featuring Baird Whitlock's kidnapping did not strike me as well written. In fact, I did not like it at all. Neither George Clooney's funny performance or Channing Tatum's dancing skills could save it. The main problem with this story is that Whitlock was basically kidnapped to provide funds for Gurney, a song-and-dance performer who was a thinly disguised take on actor/dancer Gene Kelly, who was known to be a hardcore liberal. The end of the movie revealed that Gurney took with him, the ransom from Whitlock's kidnapping, when he defected to the Soviet Union via a Russian submarine. The entire story arc struck me as simply a waste of time. And I found myself wishing that Whitlock had been used for the scandal story line, featuring Thora Thacker.

I certainly had no problems with the movie's production values. Jess Gonchor did a fairly decent job in re-creating Los Angeles in the early 1950s. His work was ably assisted by the film's visual and special effects teams, Nancy Haigh's set decorations and Roger Deakins' cinematography. However, in the case of the latter, I could have done without the occasional use of sepia tones. I also enjoyed Mary Zophres's costume designs. But they did not exactly knock my socks off. One aspect of the film that I truly enjoyed were the different "film productions" featured in the movie - especially the ones for DeeAnna Moran and the Hobie Doyle/Laurence Laurentz debacle. I know what you are thinking . . . what about the dance sequence featuring Burt Gurney and dancing extras portraying sailors? Well, I found it well executed. But the whole number, including Tatum's performance, seemed to be more about skill, but with little style.

In the end, I rather enjoyed "HAIL, CAESAR!". I believe the Coen Brothers did a fairly successful job in creating an entertaining movie about Hollywood's Golden Age. The movie also featured excellent performances from a talented cast - especially Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich and Ralph Fiennes. However, I think I would have enjoyed this movie a lot more if it had ditched the kidnapping story arc in favor of the one featuring the potential Baird Whitlock scandal. Oh well, we cannot have everything we want.