SUBURBICON

‘Suburbicon’ is what happens when a Coen brothers script (with a little Clooney and Heslov thrown in) and a Clooney vision come together. It’s a tonal mess. This is not the first time the Coens and Clooney have collaborated in glorious, symbiotic projects - i.e. ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou’ and 'Hail, Caesar!' - but that was as actor and filmmakers. ‘Suburbicon’ is a role change and a different beast. One that has not been tamed. With too many auteur chefs in the kitchen, they kinda cancel each other out and it’s not enough of anyone. It’s not the dark, cutting wit of a true Coen brothers film, nor is it social or smart enough to be a Clooney/Heslov project. It’s essentially two completely different films with different ideas and themes, slapped together and forced to get along.

George and his ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ cinematographer Robert Elswit have once again created a beautiful-looking world to get into, but with not a single likeable character and only Oscar Isaac providing the entertaining goods, it's an hour and 45 minutes of wondering what the point is and what exactly Clooney is trying to say as the film constantly shifts between the two stories.

Look, after the disaster that was ‘Monuments Men’, this was definitely a film heading back into positive territory, but GC seems to have lost his knack.