May 8, 2026
OK, it’s time for the second part of my look at the incredible filmography of Joel and Ethan Coen. Last week I covered what makes their work so special and the first half of my top ten list. If you missed that post, you can read it here. On to the top five.
To be honest, I consider all of these films truly excellent, with a few that you could argue are five star masterpieces. It’s no coincidence that they all look gorgeous, thanks primarily to the brilliant cinematography of Roger Deakins, who served as director of photography on four of them. If you have never seen these movies and consider watching them, a word of warning. Other than some comedic moments here and there, the underlying story at the center of each of these five films is kind of bleak. What can I say? Sometimes I like to be bludgeoned over the head with a tough story. It’s better than ending up in a woodchipper. So, if you are going to do a deep dive on my top five, pace yourself. First up is a new take on a classic Western novel that is a fantastic homage to Hollywood’s glory days in this genre.
#5 – True Grit (2010)
Twelve years after he portrayed “The Dude,” in The Big Lebowski, Jeff Bridges reunited with the Coens to play Rooster Cogburn, a U.S. Deputy Marshall in True Grit. The film is an adaptation of a 1968 novel that was previously depicted on the big screen in 1969 with John Wayne playing Cogburn. Cogburn is a disheveled, drunk lawman in the late 19th century, who has seen better days. He is hired by 14 year-old Mattie to find and apprehend the criminals who killed her father. Mattie wants them brought to justice for their crimes, Rooster just wants some money for the task. Despite her insistence that she travel along for the journey, he is reluctant to let her join him. She eventually convinces him, with the help of a Texas Ranger (played by Matt Damon) who is also chasing the gang for a different murder. What follows is your classic Western, with a compelling story, great performances, and a gorgeous view of the 19th century landscapes in the Old West, thanks to Deakins.
Bridges and Damon are excellent in their portrayals of the lawmen, but the breakout star of True Grit is Haile Steinfeld, in her film debut. Having watched her grow as an actress over the last 15 years, including her terrific performance in Sinners last year, it’s remarkable watching her in this film. She has so many scenes where she is squaring off with Bridges or Damon (sometimes both) and she more than holds her own. It’s no surprise that she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for this performance.
True Grit was a massive success, both critically and at the box-office. Audiences were ready to go back to a Western motif seen in the Coen’s 2007 Best Picture winner (which we’ll get to shortly) after the zany comedy Burn After Reading in 2008 and the off-beat comedic character study A Serious Man in 2009. True Grit received ten Oscar nominations, the most of any Coen brothers movie, but went home empty handed. Now, I don’t have any issue with the film missing out on Best Picture or Best Director, which went to The King’s Speech, but should have gone to The Social Network. But I do think there is a strong case that Steinfeld should have won Best Supporting Actress over Melissa Leo, who took home the prize for The Fighter. She is simply remarkable in this performance and while she hasn’t had that huge breakout role since then, I’m hopeful that Sinners will send her career on a different trajectory. But, it’s also nice to watch True Grit to see that talent on display from the very beginning.
#4 – The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)
As I covered last week, the Coens’ debut film Blood Simple was a nod to the old noir pictures of the 1940s and 1950s, especially with the plot and the dialogue. With The Man Who Wasn’t There, they truly paid homage to that genre, particularly in the choice to release it in glorious black and white. Thanks, once again, goes to Deakins for the lush presentation of this crafty thriller about crime and infidelity, the two best ingredients for a noir story. The film was actually shot in color, then converted to black and white during post-production, and might feature the most beautiful depiction of cigarette smoking ever committed to the medium. Not that I condone smoking, of course. Unlike Blood Simple, the Coens set the story for this film in the late 1940s, so it feels even more like the classics of that glorious time in Hollywood.
The Man Who Wasn’t There centers on three characters in a love triangle. Billy Bob Thornton plays Ed Crane, a barber who is just biding his time, working with his brother-in-law, who owns the barber shop. Ed is married to Doris, a bookkeeper who is having an affair with her boss, played by James Gandolfini. One day Ed hears about an investment opportunity in an exciting new technology – dry cleaning. He is intrigued, partly because of the financial opportunity, but also because it might give him something exciting in his life. The problem is that he doesn’t have the money, so he decides to blackmail Doris’s boss with the threat of exposing the affair with his wife. From there, let’s just say that things get dicey, with several twists and turns.
Besides the homage to the classic noir films of Hollywood yesteryear, The Man Who Wasn’t There is a very good story with a terrific performance by Thornton at the center of it. He remains even keeled throughout the film, regardless of the plot twists that come his way. Thornton provides narration throughout the picture, which is sometimes a crutch for a director with a screenplay that is confusing or weak. That’s not the case here – it’s another nod to old noir films that featured the same storytelling device. Also, look for Scarlett Johansson in one of her first acting performances, as a friend of the family. If you love those old Hollywood crime-thriller noir classics, then The Man Who Wasn’t There is definitely for you.
#3 – No Country for Old Men (2007)
It may be sacrilege to not have this movie at #1, or at worst #2, but that’s a reflection of the greatness of the Coens’ filmography. In reality, any of these top three are appointment viewing movies if you are in the mood for an absolute masterpiece. Just don’t go looking for an uplifting story, especially if you are selecting No Country for Old Men, the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel that finally delivered Oscar gold to the Coen brothers. The film won four awards that night, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem. More on him in a moment.
It’s worth pausing on just how remarkable the 2007 year in film was. I actually devoted way too many words to it back in 2022, which you can read here. The big showdown at the Oscars that year was between No Country and Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece, There Will Be Blood. I think PTA’s film was the best of that year, but No Country is not far behind. In addition to these two great pictures, we also had Michael Clayton, Atonement, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Juno, Knocked Up, and Sidney Lumet’s last film, Before the Devil Knows Your Dead. What a year.
Getting back to No Country, like most of the Coen brothers work, at the center of the story is a crime, with the perpetrators trying to escape and the lawmen chasing them featured prominently. We also have innocent bystanders and one truly evil man. Josh Brolin plays a man living in Texas who stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad, with several dead people and a briefcase full of $2 million in cash. He realizes that this is his chance to start a new life with his wife. He sends her off to stay with her mother, until he can be sure no one tracks him down for the money. He frequently moves around, feeling that someone is on his tail. One of those individuals chasing him is the local sheriff, played by Tommy Lee Jones. The other is assassin Anton Chigurh, played menacingly by Bardem in his Oscar-winning performance. His choice of weapon is certainly unique, and he spends no time debating if he should kill someone if there is even a remote chance that they will get in his way. He has been hired to recover the money and nothing will stop him.
When you have a story like this, you can imagine that there probably isn’t going to be a happy ending. Hey, I warned you there would be some bleak storytelling. The Coen’s adaptation of McCarthy’s novel is just a masterclass in filmmaking. Sure, all aspects of their craft are on display – perfect casting, a clever screenplay that intertwines all of the characters in a well-paced manner, suspenseful moments that will have you holding your breath, and beautiful landscapes of the Texas desert (thank you once again, Roger Deakins). But there is also a beautiful aspect of this movie, which is depicted in the performance of Jones as the sheriff. He is close to retirement and contemplating his life and career, which are both coming to an end. He wonders if there is any hope remaining in the bleak world he lives in, which stands as a stark contrast to the killer Chigurh . A true mark of a masterpiece is when you are still thinking about the film, long after the credits roll. No Country for Old Men is one of those movies.
#2 – Miller’s Crossing (1990)
In last week’s post, I mentioned that I decided to take a tour through the filmography of the Coen brothers two years ago. I had seen a few of their movies, but decided I needed to do a proper watch of everything. They’ve only made eighteen films, so it’s not as daunting as say, the work of Spielberg, Scorsese, or Eastwood. Quick sidebar: I’ve committed to seeing as many movies as possible by the biggest directors of all-time, in preparation for a series I am planning for next year. I’m going to attempt to rank (somehow?) the greatest directors in Hollywood history. I still have many films to watch, not to mention the thousands and thousands of words I need to write, so I am already questioning my life choices. I’m just kidding. I’m LOVING catching up on some classics and long-forgotten works of the biggest names we’ve seen direct films over the last 100 years. Sure, there are some clunkers, but most of the project has been eye-opening and rewarding. I mention this because the Coens will definitely be high on that list and two years ago, I set out to watch their movies.
Now, when I begin my journey with a director’s work, I attempt to go in chronological order, because I am a movie psycho. Yes, that’s true, but the real reason is because I really like to see how a director’s work evolves as they get more experience with storytelling and the craft of directing. Most of the time, the early work of a filmmaker is raw, uneven, and messy, but you can see glimpses of real talent under the surface. Then, a few movies into their career, you see a masterpiece put on screen and you say to yourself, “Oh, they figured it out. Now, I’m really excited to see where their career goes.” With Joel and Ethan Coen, I was impressed with their debut picture Blood Simple, as I covered last week. Their next film, the oddball comedy Raising Arizona, was funny, but just a little too zany for my taste. I understand why people love it, but it didn’t make my top ten. Their third film, Miller’s Crossing, had me sit up in my seat and say, “Ok, Joel and Ethan, you now have my attention.”
Set in the 1920s Prohibition era, our story is centered on a criminal organization led by Irish mobster Leo O’Bannon, played by legendary actor Albert Finney. His main lieutenant is Tom, (Gabriel Byrne) who happens to be sleeping with his boss’s girlfriend Verna, played by Marcia Gay Harden. Her degenerate brother Bernie (John Turturro in an outstanding performance), who has been skimming from a rival gang, is in need of protection. When Leo provides it, it sets off a war between the two rival organizations.
There are a lot of twists and turns, and several characters to keep track of, during Miller’s Crossing, so it’s best to put your phone down while watching it. And why wouldn’t you? The 1920s come alive on the screen with the beautiful costumes and production design, as well as a terrific score from Carter Burwell that complements the jazz songs from the era that are also included. In particular, Burwell’s musical cues during suspenseful scenes out in the woods at Miller’s Crossing, are moving and suspenseful. This picture also looks beautiful and is the one movie in my top five not shot by Roger Deakins, but by the Coens’ early collaborator Barry Sonnenfeld, who was also the cinematographer on Blood Simple.
I absolutely love the cast of this movie. Byrne has always been one of my favorites. One of these days, I need to find an excuse to write about The Usual Suspects. He is terrific as Tom, who is juggling many lies throughout the story and is faced with several life-changing decisions by his boss and the rival gang. It’s always great to see Finney on screen and it’s a testament to the Coens’ talent that they could secure him for this role, given their limited filmography at this point in their career. But the true revelation of Miller’s Crossing is Turturro, who portrays Bennie with incredible range. At times, he is the dopey brother who can’t do anything right. Then he is the slimy criminal, looking for an edge to double cross someone. And then, in the picture’s iconic scene, he plays a terrified man, begging for his life to be spared by Tom, who is forced to kill him for his transgressions. On the one hand, it’s astounding to see what the Coens delivered with only their third movie, but when you look at their body of work, it’s no surprise that Miller’s Crossing set the high standard for the rest of their career.
#1 – Fargo (1996)
When I was ranking the films of Joel and Ethan Coen for this list, there really wasn’t any doubt about the #1 spot. Sure, I debated No Country vs. Miller’s Crossing for #2, but Fargo was always going to be #1. The next question I asked myself was “Why?” Why was this always the choice? Why is Fargo a perfect movie to me? After writing way too many words about their filmography, the reason hit me with clarity. It’s because it’s a summation of everything they do well. Allow me to explain further.
The Coens are great at making suspenseful crime-thrillers. They are also brilliant in writing and directing films with impeccable comedic timing, especially those that are dark comedies. In fact, those are my favorite types of comedies. Some of their pure slapstick movies are a little too silly at times for my taste. Fargo is the ideal blend of a crime-thriller and dark comedy. A bumbling car salesman who is in desperate need of money (the reasons why are never explained and that’s perfectly fine) hires two idiot criminals to kidnap his wife. He plans to convince his father-in-law to pay the ransom, which he will keep, after paying the kidnappers their share. Hardly any part of the plan goes well, innocent people are murdered, and the local sheriff quickly figures out that the car salesman has a lot to hide. All told with comical bits, hysterical accents, and the absurdity of stupid people doing stupid things. Oh yeah, and a woodchipper. If you know, you know.
Apart from the brilliant story, the Coens assembled a wonderful cast, led by Frances McDormand as sheriff Marge Gunderson in the performance that won her the first of three Best Actress Oscars. William H. Macy plays Jerry Lundergaard, the car salesman who certainly doesn’t have a future as a master criminal. Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare are the bumbling criminals. One is goofy, the other is terrifying. Add in a number of supporting actors who feel like they were picked off the streets of North Dakota and Minnesota to play their parts, and you have the makings of a great movie.
Then you have the brilliance of Roger Deakins’ cinematography. The film’s snowy landscape setting just pops off the screen throughout the picture. One of my favorite sequences in any Coen brothers’ movie is when the criminals kill the police officer, then chase down a witness. Deakins captures the snowy chase in the dead of night, only visible from the car’s headlights. It’s a perfect shot. For good measure, we get another terrific score from Carter Burwell, who punctuates the suspenseful scenes with blaring horns that emphasize the stress we feel.
One of the best parts about Fargo? All of that is accomplished in less than 100 minutes! How on Earth did they do that? If this story was told today, it would be a ten-part limited series. Oh, wait. There is actually a Fargo television series. Five seasons, in fact, which are very good (especially the first two, which are excellent). Each season is a new story with a different set of characters, but no connection to the original film, just the same vibes. It’s been thirty years since we were fortunate to have the Coens give us this brilliant piece of filmmaking. Am I thankful to have this in my life? Yeah, you betcha.
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back at the end of the month with thoughts on more new releases. Thanks for reading and if you would like to be notified about future posts, you can subscribe below.