tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post1134196347706958412..comments2024-03-10T07:42:17.071-04:00Comments on The Film Doctor: "You must pay for everything in this world one way or another": notes on genre and justice in True GritThe Film Doctor http://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-49931938474735672212012-02-15T14:01:19.717-05:002012-02-15T14:01:19.717-05:00Ultimately, I think I agree with you about "L...Ultimately, I think I agree with you about "Lebowski". It fits much more into the Coens' "Hudsucker Proxy" and "O, Brother" paradigm than any true old world justice of God/Fate milieu. Although, there is certainly a lot of the fickle nature of Fate in all three films. <br /><br />Overall, I'd say that the Coens feature a cinematic world of ancient morality in contemporary(esque) settings, with a healthy comedic dose of "I'd rather be dumb and lucky than actually good".<br /><br />And yes, as regards "True Grit", Mattie's Calvin moral dowdiness must have appealed to the Coens right away.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-29690970165382310922012-02-13T12:27:46.234-05:002012-02-13T12:27:46.234-05:00Thanks again, Anonymous,
I prefer Old Testament m...Thanks again, Anonymous,<br /><br />I prefer Old Testament morality to the New one. It appears to square more with my experience. In the novel <i>True Grit</i>, Mattie tends to lean more towards retribution over any inclination to listen to "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord." With her thoughts on Election, she implies that God's Grace is separate and largely inexplicable. As she writes, "You must pay for everything in this world one way or another. There is nothing free except the Grace of God. You cannot earn that or deserve it." <br /><br />In comparison, it seems to me that <i>The Big Lebowski</i> is just too affectionate a portrait of a ne'er-do-well to have any proper sense of justice (not to mention the Dashiell Hammett plot grafted on). I wonder if people love that film due to the way it exonerates loafers like Lebowski.The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-79219372450094280802012-02-09T09:51:04.563-05:002012-02-09T09:51:04.563-05:00I am sure one could come up with a hierarchy of pu...I am sure one could come up with a hierarchy of punishment/come-uppance in Coen Bros. films. The only truly bad guy who seems to get away is Chighur, and in that the Coens were just being true to the novel (although he is massively injured and sneaking away on foot at the end).<br /><br />Even in Miller's Crossing, where everyone is a bad guy more or less, the two "best" bad guys get the ultimate punishment in a buddy picture - the lose their friendship.<br /><br />Old Testament justice is often not what we would consider "fair" in modern terms. The book of Job is not the only time when God imposes conditions on humans that beggar one's sense of fair play.<br /><br />Lebowski may fall into the Coens' more Dostoyevskian aspect. He flirts with being a Holy(secular) fool. He meditates, he is virtually oblivious to what goes on around him: until somebody steals his rug. <br /><br />But the Big Lebowski and the Nihilists do get their come-uppance. Donny's death may be the price Lebowski and Walter pay for their own double-crossing money theft scheme.<br /><br />If "Fink" is the Book of Daniel, and "Serious Man" is the Book of Job, I wouldn't be surprised to see more parallels between Coen films and the Old Testament, both in structure and sensibility.<br /><br />Just, you know, for kids (Which is probably another Dostoevskian "Holy Fool" template).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-70252406488349948812012-02-08T20:03:15.476-05:002012-02-08T20:03:15.476-05:00Anonymous, your theories are compelling, but the c...Anonymous, your theories are compelling, but the conclusion (especially the way the two convicts return to jail) struck me as a bit convenient, even as <i>Raising Arizona</i> is still my favorite Coen brothers movie. Are we supposed to think of Leonard Smalls as an agent of justice? Is there Old Testament retribution in <i>The Big Lebowski</i>? All of this thinking makes my head hurt.<br /><br />I've been studying the novel <i>True Grit</i>, and I'm beginning to wonder if all of Portis' novels are one long elaborate skillfully written shaggy dog joke. His books seem to mock anyone who attempts to analyze them.The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-60623206258224687312012-02-07T19:42:39.704-05:002012-02-07T19:42:39.704-05:00Oh sure. Hi stole Nathan Arizona's son. He m...Oh sure. Hi stole Nathan Arizona's son. He must pay. A dark force of nature (that is out of the control of the Earthly authorities) is sent to destroy him. His life is destroyed, and he is chased even as he continues his wickedness (robbing banks).<br /><br />His salvation is a fickle whim (a grenade pin), and nothing that is really deserved. He learns a lesson and becomes a law-abiding family man. Note that his two fellow robbers, upon seeing the random power of divine/evil justice, also renounce their ways and crawl through the mud to go back to jail (the Coens share the guilty/redemption dynamic with Dostoyevsky).<br /><br />Also, you mentioned "A Serious Man". How fickle are the evils that plague the main character, really? Did he covet his neighbor's wife? Did he allow his eldest son to worship an idol (TV)? Did he lie/cheat/steal (the academic bribe)? <br /><br />How many of the 10 commandments did he really break in actuality or in spirit?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-24537502310789811052012-02-07T18:54:49.086-05:002012-02-07T18:54:49.086-05:00Thanks, Anonymous. I never made that connection. ...Thanks, Anonymous. I never made that connection. Even for <i>Raising Arizona</i>?The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-21824028143433497362012-02-07T18:47:18.437-05:002012-02-07T18:47:18.437-05:00The Coen Bros. built "Barton Fink" entir...The Coen Bros. built "Barton Fink" entirely around the narrative structure of the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament, equating the lot of the progressive screenwriter in 1930s-40s Hollywood with that of the elite Jewish slaves in Babylon. <br /><br />In fact, the entirety of their ouvre is more or less a compendium of old testament-style justice through the prism of dark comedy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com