Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
Directed by Joel Coen
A revenge-seeking gold digger marries a womanizing Beverly Hills lawyer with the intention of making a killing in the divorce.
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What he does do is both clever and plausible, thanks to Connelly’s cunning plotting and John Romano’s sure-handed script (a great leap forward after “Nights in Rodanthe” and “Intolerable Cruelty”).
Gary Lucchesi produced "Primal Fear" early in his career, and one can see what drew him to John Romano's (“Intolerable Cruelty”) adaptation of the Michael Connelly novel with its similar plot about the client who acts like innocence personified before revealing the depths of depravity.
Adapted by screenwriter John Romano (whose anemic earlier credits include the Richard Gere-Diane Lane sudser Nights in Rodanthe and the Coen brothers’ aptly titled Intolerable Cruelty), the movie has a revved-up narrative engine and the snappy banter to go with it.
What follows are the usual twists and turns, but under the direction of Brad Furman a fun and thrilling watch ensues, backed by a great screenplay by John Romano (Intolerable Cruelty) and a bevy of interesting characters, where everyone from the jailhouse snitch (Shea Whigham) and perhaps the sleaziest witness to ever take the stand (Eric Etebari) all have something to contribute.
He has alternated parts in projects like "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" "Intolerable Cruelty," and the three "Ocean's" movies with "The Perfect Storm," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Syriana," "The Good German," and the 2007 film we're discussing here, "Michael Clayton," which may his best starring vehicle to date.
Skip back past their recent fluff — not that Intolerable Cruelty and especially O Brother, Where Art Thou? are not as sublime as fluff gets — and recall how Fargo and Miller’s Crossing and Blood Simple simply Blew.
With very few exceptions (dare I remind everyone of “Intolerable Cruelty”?), pretty much every film they touch is a brilliant masterwork.
Joel and Ethan Coen have drawn blanks with The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), The Ladykillers (2004), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) and The Big Lebowski (1998).
This is not a comedy (at least not in the sense that Raising Arizona and Intolerable Cruelty are), but that doesnâ??t keep the Coens from inserting little moments of dry, dark humor, many of which are the result of Tommy Lee Jonesâ?? laconic wit.
Instead of Fargo or Blood Simple , we’ve been getting The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty .
(Even minor Coen movies “The Ladykillers” and “Intolerable Cruelty” yield more laughs.)