The Ladykillers (2004)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Directors:

Ethan Coen
Joel Coen

Writers (WGA):

Joel Coen (screenplay) &
Ethan Coen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

The greatest criminal minds of all time have finally met their match.

Plot:

An eccentric, if not charming Southern professor and his crew pose as a band in order to rob a casino, all under the nose of his unsuspecting landlord: a sharp old woman.

Plot Keywords:

Casino | Professor | Remake | Landlady | Drawing Straws

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Tom Hanks	...	Professor G.H. Dorr
Irma P. Hall	...	Marva Munson
Marlon Wayans	...	Gawain MacSam
J.K. Simmons	...	Garth Pancake
Tzi Ma	...	The General
Ryan Hurst	...	Lump Hudson
Diane Delano	...	Mountain Girl
George Wallace	...	Sheriff Wyner
John McConnell	...	Deputy Sheriff
Jason Weaver	...	Weemack Funthes
Stephen Root	...	Fernand Gudge
Lyne Odums	...	Rosalie Funthes (as Baadja-Lyne Odums)
Walter K. Jordan	...	Elron (as Walter Jordan)
George Anthony Bell	...	Preacher
Greg Grunberg	...	TV Commercial Director

MPAA:

Rated R for language including sexual references.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Vietnamese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Malaysia:18SX (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | France:U | South Korea:15 | Malta:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:U | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:T | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #40668)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

The portrait of Othar is based on Alec Guinness. The original movie both starred Guinness and had his likeness in the portrait, which itself is a reference to one of the eight characters Guinness played in Kind Hearts and Coronets.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Professor Dorr explains that his ensemble plays Rennaisance music, but later says that the music comes from the Rococco period. The two styles are completely different, and the periods they are from are separated by a span of about a 150 years.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sheriff Wyner: Unh... Oh! Afternoon, Miss Munson.
Marva Munson: Afternoon, Sheriff. You know the Funthes boy?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Danika (2006)

Soundtrack:

Concerto Grosso in D Major, Op. 6, No. 4

A Coen gem

Spoilers

Falling short of a Coen masterpiece (such a Fargo), The Ladykillers can be described as a Coen gem. The style is evident right from the opening shot. Where else can you find a garbage barge and a garbage dump transformed so magically by the movie camera into what looks like an idyllic paradise. Equally sparkling is the audio pleasure proffered, with the beautiful background of barber-shop like chorus leading into an on screen duet of snores of the sheriff and his deputy. While on that score (no pun intended), lively, exciting swinging gospel music provides excellent interludes as well as background throughout.

Knowing that this is a remake of a 1955 version lead by Alec Gunnies, I'll make no further reference to something that I have not had the pleasure of watching. Instead, I would make reference to the assembling of the team for the caper, an enjoyable prologue as found in many similar films, from the good old classic The League of Gentlemen to the more recent Italian Job (also a remake). The slight difference here is that instead of seeing the mastermind (Tom Hanks) actually recruiting each one of them, we are shown what looks like a cartoon quip of each, with some good laughs but at the same time highlighting their individual characteristics.

Tunnelling for a robbery is not new, and the classical one has to be The Red Headed League in the Sherlock Holmes short stores. Here, under the pretext of researching Renaissance music, Hanks and company rent the basement of a widow, played by Irma P. Hall. One source of amusement to the audience comes from the scenes between these two, the church-going Southern black woman whose every nuance overflows with simple, principled honesty (but earthly smartness) and the completely cunning crook who tries to wriggle out of her recognition at every twist and turn. Another contrast played upon a lot by the Coen Brothers is the Hanks' talking 'genteel' (as Eliza Doolittle would have said) and the proliferation of obscenity from the 'punk', the insider member of the gang.

Funny right from the start, this movie gradually reveals more and more of the Coens' brand of dark humour when eventually the title 'ladykillers' take on a literal meaning. An 'In competition' film at Cannes this year, this Coen gem is well worth checking out.