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STORY STUDY - MEDIUM: FILM - “O Brother, Where Art Thou”

Jeffrey Tung
May 1, 2017
2 min read

O Muse!

Sing in me, and through me tell the story

Of that man skilled in all the ways of contending,

A wanderer, harried for years on end…

This is the passage that starts off this week’s film, O Brother, Where Art Thou, with its first two lines the beginning of the source material the film is inspired by.

Directed by Joel Coen, written Joel & Ethan Coen, and based upon the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, the film is about three convicts chained together, Everett, Pete, and Delmar, who escape a chain gang. They aim to hunt down a treasure that Everett buried from a robbery (which is why he was imprisoned) before the area where the treasure is buried becomes flooded in place for a new dam that’s being built.

Along the way, they encounter other characters, obstacles, and even become overnight singing sensations, though they never realize that’s happened.

The film is set in 1937, Mississippi, and the film captures the tone and feel of this setting. From the costumes, the characters’ accents, the era-accurate vehicles and buildings, down to the color palette of the overall look (sepia), which just fits the film perfectly.

What also makes the film stand out is the music. It’s not just the score by T-Bone Burnett, but also the soundtrack, which is composed of folk music of Depression-era American South.

I consider O Brother, Where Art Thou to be my favorite of the Coen brothers’ films. I don’t remember saying this in a previous post, but I HATE dark comedies. Sorry if I don’t find the deaths funny, and if you know anything about the dark comedies that the Coen brothers have made, you know what I’m talking about. I’m aware that dark comedies doesn’t mean people die for the sake of comedy, but Coen brothers’ dark comedies is the standard I hold for this particular genre of film. It was one of their films that introduced me to such a genre.

This film, however, I consider to be more of a straight out comedy. There are a few deaths, but they aren’t graphic and hardly played for laughs.

I was introduced to this film when I was in 9th grade when my English class was reading The Odyssey, and our teacher showed this film in class.

O Brother, Where Art Thou, is not as iconic as other Coen brothers’ films like Fargo or The Big Lebowski, but there is still some recognition the film receives. I believe it has cinematography that is unique enough to make it stand out. Apparently, the Academy Awards thought so too, since the film was nominated for Cinematography, as well as Best Adapted Screenplay.