Overview"Hail, Caesar!" is an American comedy movie set in the 1950s Hollywood, directed and produced by Joel and Ethan Coen, referred to as the Coen Brothers. The movie, released in 2016, features a star-studded cast, consisting of Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, and Scarlett Johansson.
PlotThe motion picture is fixated the character Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a "fixer" working for the fictional Capitol Pictures studio, drawing motivation from a real-life movie executive and fixer of the same name. Mannix's role includes smoothing over public relations catastrophes and keeping the studio's stars in line.
The film's main plot revolves around the abduction of Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), the leading star in the studio's distinguished biblical epic "Hail, Caesar!" during the middle of shooting. A group of communists, calling themselves 'The Future,' kidnaps Baird for ransom, leading to Mannix's major job of solving the issue without interfering with the studio operations or triggering a public scandal.
Subplots and Characters"Hail, Caesar!" weaves a variety of subplots and exposes the inner workings of the Golden Age of Hollywood through many abundant characters. For example, we get a glance of the dance routine of a musical star Burt Gurney (Channing Tatum), and a drama scene in between DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson), a water film entertainer with a scandalous private life, and her director (Jonah Hill). An emphasize is the struggle of a western film star Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) trying, in a comedic method, to deliver complex lines in an advanced drama under the assistance of the requiring director Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes).
Themes and Reception"Hail, Caesar!" is more than simply a funny or a farce. It demonstrates the flip-side of the attractive Hollywood life and explores themes of commitment, personal sacrifice, faith, the contradictions in between public image and private life, and even pokes fun at the ideological departments of the Cold War period.
Critical reception for the film was typically positive, with lots of applauding its humor, cast efficiencies, and the Coen Brothers' storytelling. Nevertheless, some critics pointed out potential weak points in the movie's narrative structure, owing to the complex wide variety of subplots. It was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival and got a nod for Best Production Design at the 89th Academy Awards.
In summary, "Hail, Caesar!" is a well-crafted tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood, full of nostalgia, humor, behind-the-scenes studio drama and bravura performances, all tied together by the Coen Brothers' signature eccentric narrative design. While not without its defects, the film provides an interesting and amusing peek into Hollywood's past.
Top Cast
