This movie is rich in images and sounds that reflect the best and worst parts of what we've come to expect in pictures that depict the South. In the worst, we see poverty, casual racism, lynch mobs, chain gangs, and the KKK. In the best parts, we find some of the most soulful music that we've ever heard in a movie. One of our comments on leaving the movie was that this was a really good soundtrack movie. If you've read our review of Coyote Ugly, you will know that we normally hate soundtrack movies because they're usually blatant 1.5-2 hour commercials designed to sell the album. This was a movie that used music to complement the characters and situations but had so much of it that it seemed like a soundtrack movie but was much better than the usual member of that genre. We hear the Blues, spirituals, hymns, Olde Time, and bluegrass scattered all throughout the picture. There is even a character in the movie that acknowledges the Blues legend Robert Johnson (known for the seminal Blues piece "Hellhound On My Trail"). This is music that was created to express hard times in a hopeful manner and weaves its way through the movie's images both picturesque and mundane. The songs successfully reinforce the story and steep the viewer in the culture of the South.
The movie is really composed of a series of episodic vignettes, much as The Odyssey was. Odysseus faces obstacles such as the Cyclops, Scylla and Charybidis, Sirens, the Lotos Eaters, and, on finally reaching his homeland, the suitors competing for his wife Penelope. McGill faces a posse, a one-eyed Bible salesman, Sirens, the KKK, his exasperated and divorced wife Penny and her suitor. If Ulysses bears any resemblance to the ancient Greek version of his character, it's his quick thinking and clever tongue that help get the three out of (and into) many troubles. Subplots abound and are spawned through each encounter. Eventually we come to a resolution with all the threads neatly resolved but we're not sure how it happened. Episodic storytelling often has the problem of story continuity. Tales such as The Odyssey, King Arthur, Robin Hood, Paul Bunyan, and Journey To The West were really campfire sorts of tales, spun by amateur and professional storytellers in short chapters designed to hold the listener's attention through to the next story. Writers like Homer and Malory took these tales and attempted to assemble them coherently but at their core, we can see the seams where they were knit together. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou has that atmosphere about it. The little scenes and episodes are artistically crafted and are entertaining. But look too closely and you see little rifts that almost keep the story from coming together. That's the only grain of salt that you may need to accompany you as you watch the picture. It's a lot of fun but you may feel that you're wandering through an odd landscape of disconnected scenes - which is not far from the truth.
Still, we enjoyed this movie a lot. We give it an 8 on the Good Movie Scale and a 0 on the Bad Movie Scale (all the humorous things that we laughed at were intentional). Definitely go see this one -- unless you hate Bluegrass, the Blues, or Hymns and Spirituals with a passion because you won't make it through even the first three minutes of the movie.
Our Drive-In Totals:
0 Breasts
0 Dead Bodies
Muse Invocation
Blind Oracle on Handcart
Cow on a Wet Tin Roof
Midget With a Broom
Chicken Chasing
Pie Stealing, er, Borrowing
Baby-Face, er, George Nelson
Gopher on a Stick
A Tight Spot
The Devil
The Devil's Dog
Some kind of Yellow Crop grown in the South (beans and tobacco - thanks
to Bill Cawood for helping us with this)
One-Eyed Bible Salesman
3 Singing Floozies on rocks
2 spontaneous Baptisms
Horny Toad with case of mistaken identity
The KKK Drill Team
2 hair nets
1 suitor with Bona Fides
A Reform Party
1 incumbent
1 Run Out of Town on Rail incident
2 "You are my Sunshine" performances
Canned Music
Kung Fu
Gun Fu
Branch Fu
Fire Fu
Car Fu
Flaming Cross Fu
Flag Fu
Rope Fu
Whip Fu
Dapper Dan Fu
Pomade Fu
Cow Fu
Siren Fu
Act of God Fu
Kung Food
Good Movie Scale: 8
Bad Movie Scale: 0
