Intolerable Cruelty

I was very impressed with the banter that took place between George Clooney (Miles Massey) and Catherine Zeta-Jones (Marilyn Rexroth) in this movie. The Coen brothers did an excellent job on the script.

Clooney plays one of the best divorce attorneys around and is able to get his client anything they want. He appears bored and in need of a challenge…several times he and his partner Wrigley (Paul Adelstein) speak of him having a mid-life crisis. Well, he finds the challenge that he needed when he falls in love with the wife (Zeta-Jones) that his client Rex Rexroth (Edward Hermman)wants to divorce.

The sparks immediately begin to fly and you can see the electricty ignite. Miles is able to get Rex what he wants, but now Miles is in pursuit of Marilyn. Marilyn plays the game of marriage and divorce quit well. She appears to go around and collect husbands just so she can divorce them for their money. She begins to play this game with Miles and he has no clue what he is really getting into, until it is too late. I don’t want to ruin anything for you…so I won’t go on with more plot summary. There are a few twists and turns, but if there weren’t then it wouldn’t be the Coen brothers. There are also appearances by Geoffrey Rush and Billy Bob Thornton.

I would have to say the best part of the film is the dialogue and quick exchanges between Miles and Marilyn. Everytime they speak to eachother Miles askes questions of Marilyn and she never seems to answer them, but throws them right back at him. It really hits you in the gut and gets you to laugh. There are a lot of lines that get you laughing and thinking twice about the idea of ever getting married.

I am glad that the Coen brothers decided to direct this picture. They wrote the script, but when Universal couldn’t find a director that suited them for this picture they asked them to direct it. This definetly makes the picture.

You have to see this movie if you want to laugh and feel amazing electricity between characters as well as great directing.