theflicker

I agree with this. I'd say his "limits" as an actor dovetail rather nicely with the character he plays in Se7en. He's the brash, impetuous young cop to Morgan Freeman's staid, world-weary Morgan Freeman cop.

I'd have to question the terms being used as well. "Serious-looking" movie? I guess 12 Monkeys could look serious. But then it's a Terry Gilliam movie so it's supposed to be fantastic and ludicrous. Was Pitt's character supposed to be a strong dramatic portrayal of a man with a mental illness? This ain't One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I also don't get why people like his role in True Romance. He has a total of eight lines or so and none of them are great. I get it, he's stoned. Whatever. The cool thing about the movie is that the cast is so packed that it can afford to have Brad Pitt sit on a couch, not because Pitt's performance is a comedic tour-de-force.

PopcornTreeCt

I have seen all those Tilda Swinton movies. She's no Cate Blanchett or Brad Pitt for that matter.

mdc3000

Tilda Swinton was not the best thing in Constantine - not by a mile. Not a great movie yeah, but she nearly ruined it IMO. I just can't stand her - she was fine in Clayton but I hated her in The Deep End and Narnia... Pitt is leagues better.

RichC2

Yeah, Swinton, IMO, was the best thing about Constantine and Narnia. Made both of those films watchable in some capacity.

I like Pitt as well, while he isn't the best actor in the world I'm generally not overly analytical and it doesn't bother me unless it just really stands out as subpar.

Seantn

Yeah, what terrible reviews. Almost unanimously positive.

GreenVulture

He certainly does the "hotheaded asshole" routine well, but it's obvious while watching the movie that he can't hold his own when paired up with Freeman or Kevin Spacey (or worse, the two of them at the same time). And I doubt any acting class will be using his final scene in the film as study material, unless it's for an example of how not to perform a serious, heavy scene.

Just because Gilliam applies his usual offbeat "more Dutch angles, more closeups with wide-angle lenses!" style to the story doesn't make it any less serious than a more straightforward approach.

It's not the size of the performance, it's what you make of it. And Pitt made the most of his brief role, just like several other actors in the movie. You don't have to be on every page and have a monologue in order to give a great, memorable performance.

king3style

Just got back from an early screening of this in Chicago. I can't believe there are bad reviews for this movie. I am not even a huge Coen Bros. fan and I thought it was the best movie I have seen so far this year (well Batman is up there too). I think the Coen Bros. are a shoe in for best Original Screenplay. The story was well crafted....witty, clever, hilarious, and much, much more. Excellent performances by George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Francis McDormand, and John Malkovich. I wouldn't be suprised if most of them get nominated too. Granted it's early in the year, but man I can't stop thinking about how good this movie is.

P.S. I am definitely not the best writer when it comes to critiquing movies, but to sum it up: Do yourself a favor and go see this movie. I can't wait to see it again.

NoirFan

8 brief clips. "Chickee chickee chickee!"

Dr Mabuse

The review here is good.

I'm stoked about this film.

mdc3000

Really enjoyed this one. McDormand and Pitt steal every scene they're in. Clooney is great (mostly in his scenes with McDormand) and the plot moves along at a great pace...once it gets going that is...I thought the setup took a bit too long with Malkovich's character being the only thing sort of holding this movie back... Him and Swinton feel out of place. Malkovich gets a few moments but other times we check in with him for brief moments that feel awkwardly placed within the film as a whole...and Swinton doesn't have a lot to do....

but the people who are doing stuff get some crazy screwball shit to work with. I love the CIA people, Richard Jenkins is awesome and again the Coen's have given Clooney a hilarious character trait (in line with his Daper Dan and white teeth obsessions in previous flicks)... that machine is hilarious. Like I said, once the plot gets going (basically when the Hardbodies staff enters the flick) it really takes off and never looks back, with great twists and turns and a lot of Classic Coen elements. This one definitely stands in line with movies like O Brother and The Big Lebowski (tonally anyhow, Burn is not as brilliant overall as those) and I had a great time. Light, crazy and FUN. 4/5

I'm still cracking up at Pitt's performance...best line of the movie

scc15

Loved this one. If you liked Raising Arizona and O Brother you'll get a kick out of this.

mdc3000, agreed about that being the best line. Pitt was great overall.

CloverClover

This was solid, the screenplay was very intricate, and well acted by everyone. Very funny, it is good they released this only months after winning best picture, instead of waiting 3-5 years for a follow-up.

My only problem was JK Simmons always playing the same character, in that same tone. Maybe we could've seen the characters wrap up instead of that CIA guy explain everything, the things they talked about would've been fun to see.

Zen Peckinpah

This one screams for repeat viewings. I think like Lebowski this will shoot to comedy classic status after it because this movie rocks. Everyone was brilliant. Just SEE this movie. And the ending had me rolling. Hard to find a favorite part:

uteotw

LOVED it.

Hilarious all around. Coen Brothers genius. The theater I saw it at was full of people laughing out loud throughout, including me.

RagingBull80

The Coens have never disappointed me and that still stands after my viewing of Burn After Reading.

GoldenJCJ

I love both O Brother Were Art Thou? and The Big Lebowski but I laughed harder at Burn After Reading than I did the previous two combined!

Clooney, Pitt, McDormand, and Malkovich were all fantastic. Pitt stole the show and basically gave us an hour and a half version of his True Romance performance.

celmendo

Just saw it and it was great. Def. one to see more than once to appreciate just how well done it is. The best part of it for me was Pitt's expressions when he got in the car with Malkovich.

Daytripper

Just got back....and LOVED it! Yeah, screw the bad reviews. This was such an enjoyable film. Everyone turns in terrific performances. I'd give it 8.5/10

Geofferson

I saw this today as well -- thought it was pretty good. Classic Coen Bros.

FantasticVSDoom

Really enjoyed it as well... It seemed to get funnier as it when along. I thought Pitt and McDormand were obviously great, but JK Simmons and the guy "reporting" to him had the best 2 scenes of the movie imo.

bunkaroo

Great film - much better than I thought it would be.

Just echoing everyone else here - great performances. Funny and brutal at times. Good stuff.

Patman

With many of the characters intersecting at cross purposes with imperfect information and leaps to various conclusions, "Burn After Reading"'s script does a good job of giving the cast good lines, situations and reactions (to situations) and produces a film that quietly picks up steam and never lags while never becoming predictable but comes to an overall ironical conclusion that might produce an overall satisfying laugh or applause from the audience.

The cast is uniformily good and up to the challenge that the Coens have set up for them (though I thought Tilda Swinton was a little under-used, but Brad Pitt steals practically every one of his scenes). The Coens continue to show their deftness for combining elements of dark humor and violence, eliciting shock and laughs from their audience, but never losing focus of the storyline.

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

Greg MacGuffin

Saw this yesterday and had a good time with it. While I don't think it ranks with their best (Fargo, No Country, Lebowski), it's definitely a fun way to spend 90 minutes.

Zen Peckinpah

Fixed.

slop101

The more I think about this movie, the funnier it gets.

I'm gonna have to go see it again, hopefully sooner rather than later.