Film Breakdowns - The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

Film Breakdowns - The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

To become the best, we have to learn from the best.

This film is one of those movies which just stands out in how well it is photographed and how rich the character is we see the film through. A simple man played by a great actor who experiences the human condition with precision.

Let's begin breaking down some of my favourite frames from the film which encapsulate what I think are some of the pivotal points of importance in the story.

 Let's begin!

We start off this fine film seeing the normal everyday life of the man we will follow through the film. We see his wife through this doorway in a sexy dress. Environment cages almost always mean they are hiding or hiding from something or someone. Combine that with the dress? A wife who is either emasculating or having an affair.

The lighting and colours in this shot are quite reflective of the characters state of mind in the film in the early beginning. He feels in a stagnant life, it's very ordinary and monotone as is the white and bland lighting in this environment. The wide lens on his head is quite nice too, it shows a kind of focus, which when it's something as boring as a head shows you his life.

This shot is absolutely wonderful because not only is the subject of the conversation something difficult and somewhat dark (the man on the right is being blackmailed by the man on the left but doesn't know it), but both men are in the dark about something. He is in the dark about his blackmailer and the protagonist is in the dark about their fates soon to come.

In our protagonists world, everything is dark. He has blackmailed a good man for money, his wife is cheating on him and he has a dead end job and nothing in his life which he seems to enjoy. All of a sudden he hears a piano. This girl playing in the darkness is literally the only light in his world.

In bed, he is contemplating the past events of the film. He has done bad things, very bad things and his world is getting more and more dark as time goes on. There is one light something in the window and even that is casting a cage onto him. He hasn't really left himself any options to get out now, all he can do is the best he can to get out alive.

The secret has come out. He killed him. She is innocent. He it framed within the columns of the wall behind him. That alone seems to b-line out attention to him. He seems singled out in this frame even though his wife is sitting with him. He blends in with the background in a way too with his grey shirt.


 He is in prison and awaiting his death by execution for the death of the man he tried to blackmail. Literally behind a cage now he has pretty much nothing left. He has no wife to go home to, no money, no job and no friends. Everything which meant he had nothing has been taken away, he has less than nothing now. He is a husk of a man.

He is within himself in his final moments. His execution is close but in his final few moment he gets hit by this white blinding light. In a moment of euphoria, he has had a realisation about what's happened. He will not live nor will he have his life back but he has come to terms with things, he sees things for what they were and he accepts death with open arms.

Another Coen brothers film that delivers completely.  It is fantastic visually and all of the glum colours of the entire film reflect nicely the way in which the protagonist sees the surroundings in front of him. I would watch the film again easily, it's a good piece of cinema. The main character is a difficult one to fully understand as he seems to want to be passive, in fact his personality is passive but he is active in the story in what he does. It's hard to find what he values or what he likes if anything. He's a difficult personality to pin down and that perhaps is his appeal.