The Man Who Wasn't There
Overview
The Man Who Wasn't There is a 2001 neo-noir
film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
. Billy Bob Thornton
stars in the title role. Also featured are James Gandolfini
, Tony Shalhoub
, Scarlett Johansson
, Adam Alexi-Malle
and Coen regulars Frances McDormand
, Michael Badalucco
, and Jon Polito
.
Set in and around Santa Rosa, California
in 1949, the film follows Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton
), a suburban barber
, married to Doris (Frances McDormand
), a bookkeeper with a drinking problem. Doris' boss at Nirdlinger's, the local department store
, is "Big Dave" Brewster (James Gandolfini
), a loud, boisterous man, who constantly brags about his combat adventures in the Pacific Theatre
during World War II
where he claims to have served as a crack infantry trooper.
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Coen Brothers
Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...
. Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
stars in the title role. Also featured are James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini
James J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...
, Tony Shalhoub
Tony Shalhoub
Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
, Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
, Adam Alexi-Malle
Adam Alexi-Malle
Adam Alexi-Malle is an Italian actor, singer, dancer and musician born in Siena, Italy. His Italian father and Spanish/Arab mother later emigrated to London in the United Kingdom and finally to the United States...
and Coen regulars Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand
Frances Louise McDormand is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996...
, Michael Badalucco
Michael Badalucco
Michael Badalucco is an American actor most famous for his role as lawyer Jimmy Berluti on the ABC legal drama The Practice...
, and Jon Polito
Jon Polito
Jon Polito is an American actor and voice artist, who is known for working with the Coen Brothers, most notably in the major supporting role of Italian gangster Johnny Caspar in Miller's Crossing. He also appeared in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street and on the first season of...
.
Set in and around Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
in 1949, the film follows Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
), a suburban barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
, married to Doris (Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand
Frances Louise McDormand is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996...
), a bookkeeper with a drinking problem. Doris' boss at Nirdlinger's, the local department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
, is "Big Dave" Brewster (James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini
James J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...
), a loud, boisterous man, who constantly brags about his combat adventures in the Pacific Theatre
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
where he claims to have served as a crack infantry trooper.
Quotations
Me, I don't talk much... I just cut the hair.
Maybe there I can tell her all those things they don't have words for here.
Sooner or later everyone needs a haircut.
My wife and I have not performed the sex act in many years.
Dry cleaning. Was I crazy to be thinking about it?
Heavens to Betsy, Birdy!
Time slows down right before an accident, and I had time to think about things. I thought about what an undertaker had told me once - that your hair keeps growing, for a while anyway, after you die, and then it stops. I thought, "What keeps it growing? Is it like a plant in soil? What goes out of the soil? The soul? And when does the hair realize that it's gone?"
I litigate. I don't capitulate.