Burn After Reading (2008)

Comedy, Crime, Drama

Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Writers: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Starring: George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich

"Intelligence is relative."

Burn After Reading is a surprising dark comedy, written, directed and produced by the Coen Brothers.

The movie is a perfect balance between comedy and social satire, and shows how a simple misinterpretation can have an unforeseen effect on people.

The story is as bizarre as it is simple, we have state secrets catapulted in the world of gyms, frequented by men and women in full midlife crisis. We can witness the misadventures of an ex CIA spy, a treasury agent, a hyper-active fitness instructor and a woman who is trying to re-invent herself. The characters are all connected to one another and their behavior is dictated by a chain of events that has no rationality, no one really knows what they're doing or what the hell is going on.

While Burn After Reading is certainly a comedy, it's by no means dumb. It’s probably one of the smartest movies made about human stupidity.

Plot summary from IMDb: Osbourne Cox, a Balkan expert, is fired at the CIA, so he begins a memoir. His wife wants a divorce and expects her lover, Harry, a philandering State Department marshal, to leave his wife. A diskette falls out of a gym bag at a Georgetown fitness center. Two employees there try to turn it into cash: Linda, who wants money for elective surgery, and Chad, an amiable goof. Information on the disc leads them to Osbourne who rejects their sales pitch; then they visit the Russian embassy. To sweeten the pot, they decide they need more of Osbourne's secrets. Meanwhile, Linda's boss likes her, and Harry's wife leaves for a book tour. All roads lead to Osbourne's house.

Awards: Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 17 nominations.
Runtime: 96 min
R