The Ladykillers (2004) Movie Information:

The Ladykillers (2004) Directed by: Joel Cohen, Ethan Cohen The Ladykillers (2004) Written by: Joel Cohen, Ethan Cohen The Ladykillers (2004) Cast: Tom Hanks, Irma Hall, Marlon Wayans, Ryan Hurst, George Wallace, Stephen Root, Greg Grunberg, J Simmons, Jeremy Suarez

The Ladykillers (2004) U.S. Distributor: Touchstone Pictures The Ladykillers (2004) U.K. Distributor: Buena Vista

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The Ladykillers (2004) Synopsis:

Goldthwait Higginson Dorr III is a charlatan professor who has assembled a gang of experts for the heist of the century. The thieves are experts in explosions, tunneling and muscle. The professor is their critical inside man. The base of operations is the root cellar of an unsuspecting, church-going, little old lady named Mrs. Munson. The ruse: the five need a place to practice their church music. The problem: it quickly becomes evident that Dorr's thieves lack the mental capacity to do the job. The bigger problem: they have seriously underestimated their upstairs host. When Mrs. Munson stumbles onto their plot and threatens to notify the authorities, the felonious five decide to 'do her in' before she ruins their heist. After all, how hard can it be to knock off an old lady? They'll soon find out.

The Ladykillers (2004) Movie Review:

Yep, it's the Coen Brothers. Yep, it's a remake. Yep, it's the first foray for the indie loving Coen's with Mr Mainstream himself, Tom Hanks.
After the tame, safe, 'Intolerable Cruelty', they are going back to their roots, it seems.

Hanks plays Professor Dorr, a tricksy con artist with delusions of grandeur and a vocubulary which exceeds that of the Oxford English. He's planning to pull off a fantastically creative job, emptying the contents of a casino boat's safe into his well - tailored pockets.

However, to do so, he must gain access to the basement of a home inhabited by a feisty granny, Marva (Irma P. Hall).

By renting a room in her property, and using the basement to practice his 'choral music', he hopes to tunnel through the crumbling wall directly into the loot.

Like most crafty hookwinkers though, he isn't keen to do the hands - on work himself, so employs a mis-matched group of greedy assistants to help him.

'Ladykillers' is a simple shaggy - dog story, whimsical almost.

Set in the present day, it would seem, but delving into the old - style dialogue and dressing reminiscent of 'Oh Brother', it attempts to blend the two into something totally different. This leads to some very amusing culture clashes between the characters of the bluesy old school and the young upstarts, with their 'hippy de hop' music and exotic swear words.

Dorr is of the old school, with his natty attire and 'speaking in dead tongues', you can see how poor Marva is taken in by him.

Character-wise though, it feels like Hanks is trying a little too hard here, it feels a little forced. The beauty of the Coen's movies is how (seemingly) effortlessly a performance can be played out. Like 'Dude', in 'Big Lebowski', or Marge the weary cop in 'Fargo'.

It could be that as a central caricature bad - guy, he's felt the need to be this way. His speeches are always delivered impeccably, but some of the mannerisms are a little over - used.

On the flip - side, it is pleasing to see the Coens extending their stable of actors, showing that they can be adaptable and take chances, as the supporting cast clearly show.

Imra P.Hall is so natural as the church - going battleaxe Marva, grumpy and kind - she's a challenge for the group, keeping them on their toes in a series of near - discoveries.

Another newbie to the Coen fold, Marlon Wayans, (as Gawain) gets the big laughs. He's a little fire-cracker waiting to blow - up at any second, particularly at his polar opposite, fellow stooge Garth (J.K.Simmons). Wayans is an unusual choice for the Coens, more famous for dick and fart joke features like 'Scary Movie', and upcoming 'White Chicks', but he's fun to watch, and gets a chance to show what he can really do here.
Garth is the most tedious man on the planet, boring the fold with his tales of meeting his 'mountain girl' (oddball lady - friend, mountain goat more like!) and irritable bowel syndrome. Completing the line-up are The General (Tzi Ma), owner of the 'Hi Ho Donut Shop', and Lump, (Ryan Hurst) an aptly named character with the body of a pro - footballer and the brain of a pigeon. All give the good, solid performances befitting of an ensemble comedy, and are most entertaining to watch.

The fine Coen touches come in the quoting of 'Poe', the use of sepia tones, and nifty tricks of light and shadow. The direction is slinky and innovative, often we view a scene played out literally through the eyes of the character involved. There's a clever through - gag with Marva's painting of her late husband using the same trick. Things are kept chantering along nicely with a score of blues and toe - tapping gospel.

What really captivates are the visual and verbal clues, building up and weaving together the strands of this dark (but not quite black) comedy into a fully rounded fable.

Okay, it's not as out and out dark and cerebral as some of their previous works, nor as intricate, but it still delivers plenty of laughs and ludicrous scenarios. Hopefully Coen fans will be satisifed.
It would be nice to see them do something a little more edgy next time, just for the sake of variety, but this is a very fine film. Oh, and cat lovers will find plenty to revel in too!

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The Ladykillers (2004) review written by: Terresa Gaffney