The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
- Starring:
- Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, (more)
- Director(s):
- Joel Coen
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
Member Rating
My RatingTheatrical Release Information | See Details About All Versions
Set in a sleepy Northern California town in the 1940s, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen's The Man Who Wasn't There stars Billy Bob Thornton as Ed Crane, a humble barber who suspects his hard-hearted and hard-drinking wife Doris (Frances McDormand) of having an affair with her boss (James Gandolfini). When a jocular stranger (Jon Polito) breezes into town hinting at the fortune to be made investing in an outlandish-sounding new invention called dry cleaning, Ed hatches a blackmail scheme he hopes will make him rich and get him some revenge at the same time. His plan goes horribly awry when he accidentally commits a murder for which Doris ends up being blamed, landing her in the slammer and Ed at the mercy of blowhard big-city lawyer Freddy Riedenschneider (Tony Shalhoub). Filmed in black-and-white by three-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins, The Man Who Wasn't There was inspired by the seedy crime novels of James M. Cain, putting a distinctly Coen brothers' spin on the film noir tradition. Though spiked with their characteristic humor, its moody atmosphere hearkens back to the darker moments of Blood Simple and Fargo -- a marked departure from the high-spirited slapstick of O Brother Where Art Thou. ~ Tom Vick, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 116 mins
Complete Cast:
- Billy Bob Thornton - Ed Crane
- Michael Badalucco - Frank
- Tony Shalhoub - Freddy Riedenschneider
- Scarlett Johansson - Birdy Abundas
- Katherine Borowitz - Ann Nirdlinger
- Frances McDormand - Doris Crane
- James Gandolfini - Big Dave
- Jon Polito - Creighton Tolliver
- Richard Jenkins - Walter Abundas
- Adam Alexi-Malle - Carcanogues
- Director(s):
- Joel Coen
- Writer(s):
- Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- Producer(s):
- Ethan Coen
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Profanity, Questionable for Children, Violence)
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 2001 - The Man Who Wasn't There - American Film Institute - Best Cinematography
- 2001 - The Man Who Wasn't There - American Society of Cinematographers - Best Cinematography
- 2001 - The Man Who Wasn't There - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Cinematography
- 2001 - The Man Who Wasn't There - Cannes Film Festival - Best Director
- 2001 - The Man Who Wasn't There - Los Angeles Film Critics Association - Best Cinematography
- 2001 - The Man Who Wasn't There - National Board of Review - Best Actor
