The Coen Brothers Gateway Drug: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

This quirky, hilarious, visually breathtaking Depression-era Deep South riff on The Odyssey remains one of the finest Coen Brothers films

Credit: Buena Vista/Momentum Pictures

I have been told the Coen Brothers are an acquired taste. Well, I acquired the taste immediately, when I first saw Barton Fink (1991) as a teenager. I then plundered their back catalogue (a mere four films at that time) and made a point of seeing everything they released thereafter. Fast forward almost ten years, and my wife and I went to see O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). She experienced a similar conversion to the church of the Coen Brothers, revisiting their earlier works and resolving to see all their new films. My wife may not bleed celluloid like I do, but she knows a good film when she sees it and has superb taste in everything, quite honestly.