The Big Lebowski

Plot

Unemployed loafer Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski, is subject to the mistaken identy of a millionaire of the same namesake, whose wife has stolen money from a mob boss. The mob boss’ henchmen have ruined The Dude’s rug, and he wants a new one from Rich Lebowski. When he confronts RL, he discovers the wife has been kidnapped, and RL asks The Dude to help get her back.

Direction

From the amazing Coen brothers comes another well written, interesting characters starring Steve Buscemi in one of the roles.

There is some fun direction from the pair, with some interesting shots and angles.

I really enjoyed ‘The Gutterballs’ moment, and some of the moments where The Dude is hallucinating – and thinks he is inside a bowling ball.

A bit of editing from the film might have been needed, as it felt about 10-15m too long.

Cast/Characters

Jeff Bridges gives one of the best performances of his career as the titular Lebowski. His charm and nonchalance of The Dude is humorous and free spirited – who really only wants one thing. Another rug for his room.

John Goodman and Steve Buscemi play his buddies Walter and Donny. Donny is quiet and keeps to himself, where Walter is easy to anger and quick to act – he has several moments in the film that will leave you laughing out loud.

Julianne Moore plays the daughter of the Rich Lebowski, who also enters The Dude’s life in an interesting way.

Other cast members include Tara Reid as Bunny (Rich Lebowski’s wife), the late great Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt (Rich Lebowski’s Right hand man) and Sam Elliot as both the narrator and ‘The Stranger’ who The Dude meets at a bar.

Screenplay/Setting/Themes

There are some truly brilliant written lines that have become synonymous in pop culture – including the rug that ‘tied the room together’ and ‘well that’s just your opinion’. There are some hilarious PG13 edits to some of Walter’s angry dialogue, that changes the ‘this is what happens….’ line to ‘this is what happens when you find a stranger in the alps’

With such a strong screenplay, there is wonderful interactions between the characters, especially in a mostly action free film.

I did find the second act a little slow and it stretched out a bit as The Dude went on his quest to find Bunny.

What endears The Dude in both pop culture and film lore, is his easy going attitude to whatever life throws at him. He is one of the calmest (most of the time) characters in cinema history.

Score/Soundtrack

There is a solid score from frequent collaborator of the Coen Brothers, Carter Burwell. He has done better work previously with them – however the soundtrack in this film is what stands out with some both classical songs, and international versions of popular songs.

Overall

Far from the best work by the Coens, but far from the worst. I still really enjoyed this, and it a solid recommend – if not for the performance of Bridges alone.

3.5/5