Hudsucker Proxy
Director: Ethan Coen
Cast: Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Newman, Charles Durning, John ,ahoney, Jim
True-Frost, Bill Cobbs, Bruce Campbell, Joe Grifasi, John Seit, Steve Buscemi, Peter Gallagher,
Richard Whiting
Running Time: 111 min.
The plot: It's the 50s and early Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins) came all the way from small-time Muncie, Indiana to fast and busy New York City. He needs a job; he finds one at Hudsucker Industries as a mailroom clerk. He has a big idea, yet all he has to show for it is a piece of paper with a drawn hollowed out circle on it which he shows to anyone who will listen.
The head of the company Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman) wants nothing more than to own a majority share of Hudsucker, but the stock is publicly traded. Mussburger has his own big idea: to ward off potential buyers he’s got to lower the stock value of Hudsucker Industries, and when he meets Norville he decides that’s exactly what they need: a good-for-nothing moron like him to head the company and depreciate its value.
I came across The Hudsucker Proxy when I was ticking off every movie on the Coen Brothers filmography. It’s not one you hear about and it’s not well reviewed either, and I think that is a damn shame. Fargo, Big Lebowski, O’ Brother, No Country- they’re all flawless films and Hudsucker should be right up there with them. The shooting, writing, acting, color grading, editing. All of it, each detail, is just so palpably perfect.
The Coens capture the 50s style well. The color grading is a lot of deep greys, dark blues and soft tans. The shots are very long and movement-oriented, and follow characters around. This makes it feel like the camera is an observer; it has its own pair of eyes.
Movie has perfect pacing too. The acting is top-tier, all a-listers. Great chemistry between Newman and Robbins, and perfect lack of chemistry between Jennifer Leigh’s portrayal of a fast talking career gal and Robbins’ overly nice and thick-skulled nimwit-type character. The writing is quick and witty and matches the ‘screwball comedies’ of that time while still giving each character their own persona and voice.
A great mix of decades this movie is. There's more modern critiques of greed and corruption through 50s culture and atmosphere, wit and aesthetics. It has that dry and dark humor that the Coen brothers do best, but they show that in a more whimsical way, almost like a kids-styled movie but for adults. It’s Like the beginnings of a musical without any singing. It’s definitely over the top, but that’s intentional too.
The Coen Brothers insert small references all throughout much like they do in the Big Lebowski. It’s something the brothers do meticulously, and they do it well- and it’s plain ingenious. I can’t think of one thing they could have done better or differently. The poor audience reviews and critic commentary seem to come from a lack of enjoyment of fantastical things, so if that’s not up your alley this might be a skip for you.