The Man Who Wasn't There
Rent & Buy
A tale of murder, crime and punishment set in the summer of 1949. Ed Crane, a barber in a small California town, is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris' infidelity and a mysterious opportunity presents him with a chance to change it.
What critics thought
The Coens' neo-noir is warmly admired for Roger Deakins' black-and-white cinematography and Billy Bob Thornton's studiously inert performance, with many critics ranking it among the year's finest films. The fault line runs between those who found the deliberate emotional blankness hypnotic and those who felt it left the film as a technically immaculate but hollow exercise — beautiful to look at, impossible to feel.
“affectlessness is not a quality much prized in movie protagonists, but Billy Bob Thornton, that splendid actor, does it perfectly as Ed Crane, a taciturn small-town barber, circa 1949.”
Richard Schickel·Time
“the film holds the interest, to be sure, but more due to the sure sense of craft and precise effect that one expects from the Coens than from genuine involvement in the story.”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
Accolades
Parents guide
- Violence
- moderate
- Sex
- mild
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- mild
- Intensity
- mild
Genres
Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
Joel CoenDirector
Billy Bob ThorntonEd Crane
Frances McDormandDoris Crane
Michael BadaluccoFrank
James GandolfiniBig Dave Brewster
Katherine BorowitzAnn Nirdlinger Brewster
Jon PolitoCreighton Tolliver
Scarlett JohanssonBirdy Abundas
Richard JenkinsWalter Abundas
Tony ShalhoubFreddy Riedenschneider
Christopher KriesaOfficer Persky
Brian HaleyOfficer Krebs
Jack McGeeP.I. Burns
Carter BurwellComposer
Ethan CoenWriter
Roger DeakinsCinematographyFrom the studio
The Man Who Wasn't There
A tale of murder, crime and punishment set in the summer of 1949. Ed Crane, a barber in a small California town, is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris' infidelity and a mysterious opportunity presents him with a chance to change it.
What critics thought
The Coens' neo-noir is warmly admired for Roger Deakins' black-and-white cinematography and Billy Bob Thornton's studiously inert performance, with many critics ranking it among the year's finest films. The fault line runs between those who found the deliberate emotional blankness hypnotic and those who felt it left the film as a technically immaculate but hollow exercise — beautiful to look at, impossible to feel.
“affectlessness is not a quality much prized in movie protagonists, but Billy Bob Thornton, that splendid actor, does it perfectly as Ed Crane, a taciturn small-town barber, circa 1949.”
Richard Schickel·Time
“the film holds the interest, to be sure, but more due to the sure sense of craft and precise effect that one expects from the Coens than from genuine involvement in the story.”
Todd McCarthy·Variety
Accolades
Parents guide
- Violence
- moderate
- Sex
- mild
- Profanity
- mild
- Substances
- mild
- Intensity
- mild
Genres
Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
Joel CoenDirectorBilly Bob ThorntonEd CraneFrances McDormandDoris CraneMichael BadaluccoFrankJames GandolfiniBig Dave BrewsterKatherine BorowitzAnn Nirdlinger BrewsterJon PolitoCreighton TolliverScarlett JohanssonBirdy AbundasRichard JenkinsWalter AbundasTony ShalhoubFreddy RiedenschneiderChristopher KriesaOfficer PerskyBrian HaleyOfficer KrebsJack McGeeP.I. BurnsCarter BurwellComposerEthan CoenWriterRoger DeakinsCinematographyFrom the studio
Rent & Buy