Focus Features
Mike Zoss Productions
Relativity Media
StudioCanal
Working Title Films
Not part of a collection.
Burn After Reading
Intelligence is relative.
When a disc containing memoirs of a former CIA analyst falls into the hands of gym employees, Linda and Chad, they see a chance to make enough money for Linda to have life-changing cosmetic surgery. Predictably, events whirl out of control for the duo, and those in their orbit.
- Original title
- Burn After Reading
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $37,000,000
- Revenue
- $163,700,000
Martin Oaks
Dec 26, 2022 · via TMDB
**The demolition of classic espionage** After being demoted due to his alcohol problems, Osbourne Cox, a veteran CIA analyst, decides to leave the agency and write his memoirs. The CD containing the draft of his manuscript accidentally ends up on the locker room floor of his local gym, where it is found by Linda Litzke and Chad Feldheimer, two fitness center employees who are a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Convinced they have stumbled upon top-secret state secrets, the pair decides to blackmail Cox to fund the multiple plastic surgeries Linda so desperately craves. Consequently, a monumental mess ensues. Ambition and absolute incompetence collide head-on with an implacable federal government security coordinator—a fourth character in discord who is, in turn, trapped in his own web of infidelities and paranoia. Following the delightful homage to classic romantic comedies that the Coens gifted us with "Intolerable Cruelty" five years earlier, "Burn After Reading" is one of the sharpest, most precise, and hilarious satires in their catalog. It is a masterpiece of farce that draws its genius from the profound and irrevocable idiocy of its protagonists. The Minnesota filmmakers dismantle the aura of solemnity surrounding the high-level institutional spy and blackmail thriller, delivering a microcosm where nobody knows or controls anything, yet everyone is willing to kill or die for absurd misunderstandings. If there is one thing the Coens know how to do flawlessly, it is character development. They lean on a cast that borders on perfection here, highlighting an absolutely unleashed Brad Pitt as the simple-minded Chad, and a superb Frances McDormand whose existential vacuity pulls the strings of the plot. Together, it is a symphony of chaos with an unrelenting pace, backed by Carter Burwell’s rhythmic and severe score, which deliberately contrasts with the ridiculousness of what we see on screen. The work as a whole serves as a reminder that the machinery of the world is not driven by flawless conspiracies, but by pure and simple ineptitude.
Bazzjazz
May 22, 2018 · via TMDB
The Coen brothers really seemed to enjoy making this dark comedy. Great ensemble cast . It really is just good solid entertainment and some great cynicism.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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George Clooney
Harry Pfarrer
Frances McDormand
Linda Litzke
Brad Pitt
Chad Feldheimer
John Malkovich
Osborne Cox
Tilda Swinton
Katie Cox
Richard Jenkins
Ted
Elizabeth Marvel
Sandy Pfarrer
David Rasche
CIA Officer
J.K. Simmons
CIA Superior
Olek Krupa
Krapotkin
Michael Countryman
Alan
Kevin Sussman
Tuchman Marsh Man
Hamilton Clancy
Peck
Armand Schultz
Olson
Pun Bandhu
Party Guest
Karla Mosley
Party Guest
Jeffrey DeMunn
Cosmetic Surgeon
Richard Poe
Stretching Gym Patron
Raul Aranas
Manolo
Judy Frank
Lawyer's Secretary
Yury Tsykun
Senior Russian Embassy Man
Brian O'Neill
Hal
Robert Prescott
Process Server
Matt Walton
Morning Show Host
Lori Hammel
Morning Show Hostess
Crystal Bock
PR Woman
Patrick Boll
Sandy's Man
Dermot Mulroney
Star of "Coming Up Daisy"
Bob Bowersox
Drunken Princetonian
Michael Fawcett
Drunken Princetonian
William Fowle
Drunken Princetonian
Bill Massof
Drunken Princetonian
Tim Miller
Drunken Princetonian
Roger Rathburn
Drunken Princetonian
Eric Richardson
Drunken Princetonian
Bart Wilder
Drunken Princetonian
Stephen Ananicz
Gym Guy (uncredited)
Matt Cannon
Tourist (uncredited)
Kimberly Dorsey
Tourist (uncredited)
Lil Rhee
Tourist (uncredited)
Matthew James Gulbranson
Midwestern Tourist (uncredited)
RJ Konner
Senator (uncredited)
Kevin Tan
Suspicious Tourist - Day Player (uncredited)
Jess Gonchor
Production Design
Nancy Haigh
Set Decoration
George Richmond
"A" Camera Operator
Emmanuel Lubezki
Director of Photography
George Richmond
Steadicam Operator
Mary Zophres
Costume Design
Samantha MacIvor
Stunt Driver
George B. Colucci Jr.
Stunts
Jennifer Lamb
Stunts
Mick O'Rourke
Stunts
Stephanie Finochio
Stunts
Ethan Coen
Director
Joel Coen
Director
Ethan Coen
Editor
Joel Coen
Editor
Ellen Chenoweth
Casting
Eric Fellner
Executive Producer
Tim Bevan
Executive Producer
Ethan Coen
Producer
Joel Coen
Producer
Carter Burwell
Original Music Composer
Craig Berkey
Sound Designer
Craig Berkey
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Skip Lievsay
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Skip Lievsay
Supervising Sound Editor
Randall Balsmeyer
Visual Effects Supervisor
Ethan Coen
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Joel Coen
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