The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

A laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong.

Director:

Joel Coen

Writers:

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Stars:

Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 24 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Ed Crane
Frances McDormand	...	Doris Crane
Michael Badalucco	...	Frank
James Gandolfini	...	Big Dave Brewster
Katherine Borowitz	...	Ann Nirdlinger Brewster
Jon Polito	...	Creighton Tolliver
Scarlett Johansson	...	Birdy Abundas
Richard Jenkins	...	Walter Abundas
Tony Shalhoub	...	Freddy Riedenschneider
Christopher Kriesa	...	Officer Persky
Brian Haley	...	Officer Krebs
Jack McGee	...	P.I. Burns
Gregg Binkley	...	The New Man
Alan Fudge	...	Dr. Diedrickson
Lilyan Chauvin	...	Medium

Storyline

1949, Santa Rosa, California. A laconic, chain-smoking barber with fallen arches tells a story of a man trying to escape a humdrum life. It's a tale of suspected adultery, blackmail, foul play, death, Sacramento city slickers, racial slurs, invented war heroics, shaved legs, a gamine piano player, aliens, and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. Ed Crane cuts hair in his in-law's shop; his wife drinks and may be having an affair with her boss, Big Dave, who has $10,000 to invest in a second department store. Ed gets wind of a chance to make money in dry cleaning. Blackmail and investment are his opportunity to be more than a man no one notices. Settle in the chair and listen.

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Plot Keywords:

blackmail | laconic | barber | chain smoking | department store | 

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Taglines:

The last thing on his mind is murder.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a scene of violence

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Italian French

Release Date:

26 October 2001 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Barber Project

Filming Locations:

Glendale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$664,404 (USA) (2 November 2001)

Gross:

$7,494,849 (USA) (22 February 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Good Machine, Gramercy Pictures (I), Mike Zoss Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Katherine Borowitz's character is named "Ann Nirdlinger Brewster." "Nirdlinger" is the last name of the main female character in James M. Cain's novel 'Double Indemnity,' the basis for the classic film noir Double Indemnity (although for the movie, her name was changed to "Dietrichson").

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Goofs

When the band is playing at the company party, the guitar player is seen strumming through what is clearly a drum solo.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ed Crane: Yeah, I worked in a barbershop, but I never considered myself a barber. I stumbled into it. Or married into it, more precisely.

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to citizens and merchants of Orange, CA and The Bungalow Heaven Neighborhood - City of Pasadena, CA.

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Connections

References Psycho (1960)

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Soundtracks

"Piano Sonata No.23 in F minor, Op.57 (Appassionata)"
(1805)
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

User Reviews

I'm always there when they screen it

Besides being great stuff for film maniacs who like to debate the technical aspects, the cinematography or the artistic ideas and influences in it, 'The Man Who Wasn't There' is also a great film. One of my all-time favorites. The sort of film where the best possible choice of cast plays even the most insignificant walk-on role. The Coens' signature in there: being visually very conscious, especially for their film noir venture, they must have spent a huge amount of time to find the best possible faces for every single shot. Not necessary to waste words on how well they did in their choices for the lead roles. Fortunately these 'faces' they collected can also act, everyone does incredibly well here.

'The Man Who Wasn't There' has a slowly developing story, that at first viewing may require your patience a little bit. But the second and third viewings and so on will be a lot smoother... I have seen the film about five or six times already. There's this weird TV channel that screens it just about every other week and I seem to always happen to be in front of the screen at the time, by mere chance. And I never zap away, I enjoy all the details more and more, and I feel the gloating that's there in the very cold, cruel humor of the film, as well as the saddening feeling it accumulates into, as you continue watching people acting as mere unidentified flying objects in the others' life, just as strongly as the first time.