Hail, Caesar!

This review may contain spoilers!

This is an incredibly bizarre film but despite that it proves to be extremely funny and witty. I would give Hail, Caesar a 7.5/10.

This film is filled with some of the best displays of wit I've seen in a long time, this isn't just comedy for the sake of it but carefully crafted humour placed amongst a host of entertaining roles. While the structure of this narrative has some glaring problems I found that the plot of Mannix finding his place and purpose and dealing with each individual subplot was incredible, I was really engaged with this film even if it baffled me at times and I really thought there was a good understanding of pacing displayed. The score for this film isn't the most memorable but it really serves the film well, The Communist score for the Russian sub appearing was one of the best displays given by the score. The cinematography for this film is incredibly framed, while there aren't many unique shots I was really impressed with how well the shots were set up.

Josh Brolin, who played Eddie Mannix, was the perfect lead protagonist for this film; Brolin's rugged and worn down exec who just made everything work was a really engaging character and performance. George Clooney, who played Baird Whitlock, had a very fun role in this film; I loved watching him slowly get absorbed by the Communists' meeting. Alden Ehrenreich, who played Hobie Doyle, gave an incredibly charismatic performance in this film; Ehrenreich easily delivers one of the most likeable characters of the film. Scarlett Johansson, who played DeeAnna Moran, had such a great and fierce presence in this film; the entire subplot around her character's pregnancy was a lot of fun. Tilda Swinton, who played Thora and Thessaly Thacker, did a really good job at playing these twin contrasting reporters; I loved the haughtiness of her characters and the stiff antagonistic relationship she developed with Brolin. Channing Tatum, who played Burt Gurney, was a fantastic shock antagonist in this film; the relationship he had with his dog and his Communist allegiance was some of the funniest content in the film. Jonah Hill, who played Joseph Silverman, gave a great comedic cameo in this film; his line delivery was superb and lead to a subtle display of humour. Veronica Osorio, who played Carlotta Valdez, had some great chemistry with Ehrenreich in this film; Osorio showed her role slowly fall in love with his character very well. Aramazd Stepanian, Allan Havey, Robert Pike Daniel and Robert Picardo, who played Eastern Orthodox Clergyman, Protestant Clergyman, Catholic Clergyman and Rabbi respectively, delivered one of the funniest scenes of the film; this debate around the casting of Jesus Christ and who's religion was the correct one was tastefully executed and well performed. Geoffrey Cantor, who played Sid Siegelstein, wasn't a major role but delivered a really fun couple of scenes; Cantor's display of excitement over the idea of Johansson adopting her own baby was hilarious. Robert Trebor, who played the Producer of 'Hail, Caesar!', was a performance that was very realistic; Trebor nailed the boisterous and exasperated Hollywood producer role.

However the best performance came from Ralph Fiennes, who played Laurence Laurentz. Fiennes was perfectly cast for this high strung artistic director role, the minute he appears onscreen you are bowled over by the amount of presence he has. The slow loss of patience that Fiennes displays towards Ehrenreich is well built up and I enjoy the dialogue exchange that takes place between the two of them. Ultimately Fiennes can probably boast the best scene of the film and a terrific performance in it to boot.

The narrative structure of this film is all over the show and it often can mean there isn't enough focus upon a particular character, moment, or subplot. A film doesn't have to have a linear structure by any means but the film should ultimately make more sense to the audience than this one did at times. The editing for this film was rather bland and moved quite slowly, I wish the Coen Brothers had gotten a bit more creative in this area.

Frances McDormand, who played C.C. Calhoun, was a rather oddball cameo in this film; beyond a passing gag her appearance isn't very noteworthy. Heather Goldenhersh, who played Natalie, had a lot of screen time in this film but not a lot of presence; her performance was constantly being overshadowed by Brolin's. Alison Pill, who played Mrs Mannix, is a character I wish we had seen more of in this film; Pill lacked chemistry with Brolin in a big way and didn't really suit this character. Max Baker, Fisher Stevens, Patrick Fischler, Tom Musgrave, David Krumholtz, Greg Baldwin, Patrick Carroll, Clancy Brown and John Bluthal, who played Head Communist Writer, Communist Writer 1-7 and Professor Marcuse respectively, were weak antagonists in this film with a disappointing display of line delivery in this film; maybe if a better ensemble had been cast these roles as a collective would have wored better as a comedic aide to this film. Ian Blackman, who played Cuddahy, had very little screen presence in this film; his scenes with brolin were very forgettable and a lot of that was on him. Christopher Lambert, who played Arne Seslum, wasn't a very memorable cameo in this film; Lambert's appearance fell into the background against Tatum and Brolin's respective performances. Michael Gambon, who voiced the Narrator, was a bit annoying and overbearing in this film; the narration itself was rather pointless and only served to drive in the punchlines of a few different jokes.