This week, we discuss the Coen Brothers' stylish satire of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Hail, Caesar!
SPOILER ALERT We will be talking about this movie in its entirety, including the mystery of "The Future" and the ultimate resolution of Baird Whitlock's kidnapping. If you haven't seen this film, we strongly suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
A Universal Pictures and Working Title Films production. Released on February 5, 2016. Directed, written, produced, and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Channing Tatum. Cinematography by Roger Deakins. Music by Carter Burwell.
The story follows a single, chaotic day in the life of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a "fixer" for Capitol Pictures in 1951. Mannix spends his days (and nights) suppressing scandals and managing the fragile egos of the studio’s stars. His world is thrown into disarray when the studio's biggest star, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), is kidnapped from the set of the prestige Roman epic Hail, Caesar! Tales of the Christ by a mysterious group calling themselves "The Future." As Mannix juggles a pregnant starlet's image, a singing cowboy’s transition into high-society drama, and a persistent pair of rival gossip columnists (both played by Tilda Swinton), he must also weigh a lucrative, low-stress job offer from Lockheed against his grueling but soul-stirring devotion to the magic of the movies.
