Burn After Reading
Liam Hathaway

Review by Liam Hathaway Pro

Burn After Reading 2008

★★★★

Rewatched 25 Oct 2018

Firstly: no one manages to tap into George Clooney's goon-like sensibilities quite like the Coen brothers. Even though it is often derided as one of the mercurial filmmakers' lesser works and a deliberately throwaway toss-off response to the existential moodiness of their previous film, No Country for Old Men (2007), Burn After Reading stands up to multiple viewings despite not necessarily having anything too serious or pertinent to say (though, you could argue its prescience considering contemporary scandals like WikiLeaks and Russia's alleged meddling in the US election). It's still easily one of their flat-out funniest and solidly entertaining films to date, and the last of theirs I have really liked. Here's holding out for Buster Scruggs (2018).

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