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Intolerable Cruelty
Review: Synopsis George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones star alongside Geoffrey Rush and Billy Bob Thornton in this comedy from the Coen Brothers. Miles Massey (Clooney) has reached a crossroads in his life. Despite a string of impressive legal victories and being creator of the only impenetrable pre-nuptial agreement in existence, the 'Massey Pre-Nup', something is missing. But he is about to get more than he could ever have expected when Marilyn Rexroth (Zeta-Jones) walks in to his office. Soon to be the ex-wife of his client, millionaire property tycoon and love rat, Rex Rexroth, Marilyn is anticipating financial security and independence from a bumper divorce settlement. But as a result of Miles' courtroom prowess, she ends up with nothing. However, despite his success, Miles does not account for the old adage, 'Hell has no fury like a woman scorned'. Not to be undone, Marilyn sets about exacting revenge on Miles and quickly weds oil tycoon Howard Doyle (Billy Bob Thornton) as part of her plans. What ensues is a complex sexually charged battle of wits as Miles and his unflappable associate Wrigley, find themselves embroiled in underhand tactics and acts of deception. The Film Usually associated with the offbeat nature of their films, the Coen Brothers temporarily edged towards (but not into) the mainstream with their $60 million romantic comedy Intolerable Cruelty. Previous Coen collaborator George Clooney takes on the leading role as Miles Massey, a successful divorce lawyer with an unbreakable pre-nuptial contract, the 'Massey Pre-Nup'. The attorney's adversarial encounter with Marilyn, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, in the minefield of litigation stirs up more passion and conflict than either could have ever anticipated. The wackiness of this comedy reveals its Coen roots, combining the focus and style of an older film with the non-stop pace of more modern offerings. An excellent cast, quirky characters and rapid-fire lines guarantee a high level of entertainment, while the topic of gold-digging remains ever relevant. The eccentric spin applied to almost every aspect of the proceedings makes Intolerable Cruelty a welcome alternative to generic romantic comedies. However, this is a flawed product and ultimately not top-tier work from the Coen partnership. The central relationship between Miles and Marilyn, although underpinned by good physical chemistry between the two leads, seems very whimsical and undeserving of sympathy - the pair fall prey to lust at first sight, but nothing in Marilyn's cold behaviour explains why Massey is so enamoured with her as a person. Clooney, well-cast as Massey, manages to instil the necessary charm, desperation and boredom into his character to make the film work, while Paul Adelstein supports him well as sidekick Wrigley. Catherine Zeta-Jones certainly looks the part as the hard-hearted Marilyn, but undeniably has to stretch herself less in the acting stakes than most others. The other actors also muck in with humour - Geoffrey Rush opens the film brilliantly as an arrogant TV producer (but virtually disappears subsequently), while Cedric The Entertainer and Billy Bob Thornton also raise a smile or two in their supporting capacities. Overall, Intolerable Cruelty is not the finest hour of the Coen Brothers, but a superior rom-com nevertheless with superb actors and a fresh, vivacious feel. Video The film's visuals are presented beautifully on this DVD, looking ultra-glossy as intended. The colours are extremely rich, while brightness and black levels are faultless. No specks or scratches make their presence known, but the image could have perhaps been a touch sharper on occasion. Finally, the severity of grain incidence is between low and moderate, conforming to the norm of most modern releases. Overall, a superb transfer with excellent fidelity to the look of the film. Audio Once again, Universal Pictures Video have deemed this film to be worthy of a DTS 5.1 soundtrack (in addition to the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 stream). Their over-generosity with DTS upgrades on single-disc sets like these is, perversely, becoming a source of annoyance - genres like these do not require such a high-quality audio track and, considering the lack of a bonus DVD, more extras would have been preferred in lieu. Nevertheless, both the Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks are very competent, offering solid presence and clarity. Usage of the surrounds is neither extensive nor terribly sophisticated in comparison to action titles, but suitable for the content at hand. In sum, there are no problems on the sound front, but the DTS stream should have been scrapped to make room for improved extras. Extras The lack of a bonus disc, coupled with the unnecesary inclusion of a large DTS 5.1 soundtrack, has resulted in very little disc space being available for extras. The lack of an audio commentary, presumably at the request of the Coen Brothers, leaves the 'A Look Inside Intolerable Cruelty' featurette to kick off the bonus material. Clocking in at 12 minutes, this item is a standard promotional piece peppered with on-set footage and a few light interviews. Meanwhile, 'The Wardrobe' featurette takes a 5 minute look at the film's costume design. Examining a narrower topic, this extra is more detailed than the previous featurette, although nothing sensational. The best supplement is the 8 minute reel of outtakes, charting a range of goofs and giggles from the set. The 3 minute silent Rex Rexroth train home movie has also been included amongst this montage of material. Overall, this diet-sized helping of extras is far from filling - scrapping the DTS sound option for more featurettes would have been a very wise option. Feature 7/10 Overall 6/10 Site Contents Copyright© The Z Review, unless used with permission.This site has no intention to infringe on the rights of the film owners of Intolerable Cruelty and intellectual copyright holders of the movies mentioned herein & hold copyright over the movie, characters, merchandise & storyline. |
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