O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU

Firstly, imagine you’re a film producer. Then imagine if somebody told you the Coen brothers, makers of such genius as ‘Fargo’ and ‘The Big Lebowski’ had chosen to adapt Homer's Odyssey and set it in the 30’s Deep South. You would have problems understanding the concept and worry you were throwing your money and reputation into a furnace. But the adaptation works like magic. Real magic on screen.

With George Clooney playing Ulysses, an escapee from a Mississippi chain-gang. The always excellent John Turturro and relative newcomer Tim Blake Nelson make up the comic trio on the run from Police, Ku Klux Klan members and singing sirens.

Depending on your familiarity with classic literature, you may recognise some elements, but it's not that important. It becomes hugely accessible and easy to follow thanks to the Coen's usual great eye for character details and un-healthy eye for picking the right cast members again

Previous collaborators like John Goodman as the Cyclops and Holly Hunter as Clooney’s wife make excellent impressions in their fight for screen time.

Occasionally Movies Soundtracks stink. Filled with retro lifeless songs, slapped together by a money hungry producers. But this soundtrack is golden. If you see the movie, you will want the music. The Saggy Bottom Boys ‘Constant Sorrow’ is magical. It sounds so full and becomes incredibly catchy.

Clooney is very likeable, coming over somewhere between Errol Flynn and Bruce Campbell. Turturro puts in the rewarding performance you expect from him but the real show stealer is Blake Nelson. His comic timing is superb, he never lets you believe he is acting. Possibly a career best performance in his first major role?

Classic stand out scenes include: “Baby-face” Nelson’s bank job and hate for livestock! The Singing Sirens and randy toad, Encountering the Cyclops and a predictable exclusion from ‘Woolworths’! An absolutely brilliant movie. I cannot wait to see what the brothers come up with next.

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