With the release of “Hail, Caesar!” it was only a matter of time before lists with the rankings of each Coen Brothers film came out in order to get people hyped for the new movie.
GQ started it off with their version during “Hail, Caesar!”s premiere week, and then sites like Vulture, Yahoo and The Atlantic followed suit.
Nearly all of them began with how “The Ladykillers” is the worst of the bunch, yet the ending results were vastly different. It feels nothing more than an excuse to generate extra clicks from movie buffs. We get it, people didn’t like “The Ladykillers,” but at the end of the day, there was a film crew that got the opportunity to work with these heavily acclaimed directors and worked hard to make as great of a movie as the film.
No one likes being the butt of a joke, and for nearly 12 years now, “The Ladykillers” is continuously referred to as one of the worst of the Coen Brothers’ career. In all honesty, for the most part, it’s actually pretty good. When compared to the other movies, it sticks out, but when there’s movies like “The Big Lebowski,” “Raising Arizona,” “Miller’s Crossing” and “Hudsucker Proxy,” just to name a few, there’s a massive cult following that people have given these, while “Ladykillers” takes little risk.
Again, not a bad thing, but when people create lists like least to greatest about all the work a director, writer, or a creator of a series did, it just feels a bit disrespectful to the people working on the set.
The Coen Brothers have continuously shattered what can and cannot be done in the world of cinema time after time in their over-32-year career. Naming a “greatest” film of theirs or of any director in general feels subjective. “Raising Arizona” is wildly experimental with fantastic cinematography and comedy that not only showcased Nicholas Cage’s acting skills, but left viewers with some of the best dream sequences to date and possibly the most philosophical work the Coens have produced.
Recently, the entertainment site Hitfix ran a list of the top five best Coen Brothers movies, but it was much more than that. It brought staff writers, and even people like Damon Lindelof, of “Lost” and HBO’s “Leftovers” fame, to come together and explain the reasoning behind their picks. It’s a much better way to celebrate someone’s work than just simply listing why X is the worst of the group and why Y is the best.
The whole article becomes very personal to all the interviewees, showing that movies can have an everlasting impact on people. There’s people on Amazon that reviewed “Inside Llewyn Davis” that downright hate the movie because it’s “too depressing,” while I personally consider it to be my favorite of the Coen Brothers. Everything just works really well: The scenery and cinematography are hauntingly beautiful, and the music is excellent. Some of us have hit rock bottom have before – it’s soul-crushing. “Inside Llewyn Davis” is a voyage down there and makes for a compelling character study.
We need more pieces like the Hitfix article out there. Instead of bringing up how you do not like “Ladykillers,” watch something that makes you happy, something that leaves you with a strong impression about what the Coens can do. It goes the same for other directors and writers out there whenever a new a piece of work comes out.
Film and television have the power to change lives. We should celebrate the good and why it’s so special to us, instead of continuously trying to determine what films or episodes made us believe our favorite people in the industry have flaws. We’re human, we’re bound to make a mistake in our lives, and that’s especially true when it comes to cinema. Look past that, and let us move on.