2001 · 116 min · R

The Man Who Wasn't There

Name: The Man Who Wasn't There
Genre: Crime, Drama
Released: 2001
Duration: 116 min
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco, James Gandolfini, Katherine Borowitz

Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen · Crime, Drama

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) is a Crime film, directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen set in Santa Rosa during the 1940s. It runs 116 minutes and is rated R.

A neo noir, with a bleak and melancholic tone. Themes of fate & destiny and isolation play out through frame narrative.

Composer

Carter Burwell

Cinematography

Roger Deakins

Cast

Billy Bob ThorntonFrances McDormandMichael BadaluccoJames GandolfiniKatherine BorowitzJon PolitoScarlett JohanssonRichard Jenkins

The world of this film

Setting

Where

Santa Rosa

Setting

Suburban

When

1940s

Premise & themes

Premise

Neo Noir

Themes

Fate & Destiny Isolation

Structure

Frame Narrative

Tone

BleakMelancholicContemplative

Shape

Protagonist

Solo Lead

Pacing

Slow Burn

Dialogue

Sparse Quiet

Based on

Pure Fiction

1991
Barton Fink
Los Angeles — 1940s
Urbandir. Joel Coen
1985
Blood Simple
Texas — 1980s
Ruraldir. Joel Coen
1996
Fargo
Minneapolis · North Dakota · Minnesota — 1980s
Rural · Urbandir. Joel Coen
2013
Inside Llewyn Davis
New York City · Chicago — 1960s
Urbandir. Joel Coen
1990
Miller's Crossing
1920s
Urbandir. Joel Coen
2007
No Country for Old Men
Texas — 1980s
Desert · Ruraldir. Joel Coen

The Man Who Wasn't There

The world of this film

Setting

Premise & themes

Shape

More like this

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Blood Simple

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Inside Llewyn Davis

Miller's Crossing

No Country for Old Men