Raising Arizona

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman, William Forsythe, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Frances McDormand
Directed by: Joel Coen
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
1987

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A couple (Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter) unable to have children kidnap one quintuplet from

Review:

Tim: I've always had an odd reaction to the Coen Brothers. On the one hand, they are clearly extremely talented, competent directors. They have created some truly memorable, classic films. However, I don't always "get" their movies, especially their comedies. Raising Arizona is a film I probably don't fully "get", but I can appreciate the craziness of the story. I would not say this is one of my favorite Coen films, but I believe this is a good movie.

This movie was only the second Coen film, but it was very important to their emergence as a directing force. The film is certainly a "Coen" film, as it's overloaded with symbolism, violence, absurd situations, and all those hallmarks we've come to expect from their films. It's an early effort, but on display is some of the genius that would shine later in their career.

The story is mildly interesting. We have very unconventional characters- unlikable characters who the Coens somehow get us to root for, despite ourselves. The lead characters are played by Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter. Cage gives an interesting performance- it's almost as if he has no desire to make the audience like him. He plays H.I. purposefully dumb. I don't mean just the character (who is an idiot), but his performance perfectly captures the frustratingly limits of the character. He gives a good performance, but I do wish I could have liked his character a bit more. His partner is Holly Hunter- an actress I really like and feel like I don't see enough of her. For someone who's in the film quite a bit, it felt like Hunter wasn't able to make as big of an impact on the film as I would have liked. She is good, but she doesn't create any lasting memories- she's too reserved and has far too many unexciting moments. Her presence was welcome, but she really doesn't have a whole lot to do.

I always love seeing John Goodman in films, and he had a good supporting role here. Goodman is such an underrated actor, and I really believe he brought a good deal of energy to the film with his performance. His comedic timing was impeccable, and he was enjoyable to watch. I also liked the casting of Randall Cobb as a mysterious, violent, murderous man. His role was unconventional, but he was absolutely the right actor for the part.

In regards to the story, I have to admit that much of it was lost on me. I really need to spend time contemplating symbolism and drawing connections between them, but I don't have the patience to spend two hours researching every scene and why what I missed was important. I caught some of it, certainly, but not everything. It took me a long time to understand the role the bounty hunter played, and even now, I'm sure I missed some of the symbolism there. The Coens also occasionally use a frantic, unconventional style in their films, often without warning. I enjoyed the uniqueness of their vision, but it can make their films a bit inaccessible. I struggled to follow their vision at times. There were moments when it all made sense, and moments when I just felt lost. At those times, it was hard to get emotionally connected to any of the characters, because I was trying to figure out why the Coens chose to film their story in that way. It made the focus on their film-making style and detracted from the story and the characters.

While I did have complaints with individual scenes and choices of presentation, as a whole, Raising Arizona is this unexpected, oddball, surprising little film. The basic story- a couple kidnap a baby- isn't especially original. However, the Coens create this crazy, frantic film that exists in its own world. At the time this was released, no one was really making films like this, so it really stands on its own. That was the big factor that weighed heavily in this film's favor as I contemplated it. I certainly liked certain parts, but I had a number of criticisms as well. When I thought about the movie holistically, though, I had to give the Coens credit for crafting an ordinary story in their unique vision and style. That's the main reason to watch this movie.

So, in the end, I would say that I enjoyed Raising Arizona and I would consider this an early-career success for the Coens. However, this film is definitely a cult hit- it's not a movie mainstream audiences would immediately embrace. It was occasionally difficult for me to connect with the characters, but the film as a whole is definitely strong. This isn't my favorite Coen Brothers movie, but it's one worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski