Raising Arizona
I think I am going to get into trouble with Loris for this. I just added “Raising Arizona” to be my third favorite Coen after “The Big Lebowski” (which will probably never be thrown over) and “True Grit” (a film which I loved for practically no good reason apart from the fact that I found it incredibly lovely), which places it before “No Country for Old Men”, their Oscar film, and other gems such as “Blood Simple” and “Barton Fink”. However, I have absolutely no idea how to logically justify that. I just think there is something special about “Raising Arizona” – it’s really, really funny, and more than any other Coen film, it had a positive, uplifting message. Every character is likable and unlike what a lot of critics wrote, I didn’t think the film was all that nonsensical and style-over-substance. Perhaps the characters weren’t the brightest in the world, but hey, which Coen brothers characters are?
I did think that the film had some pacing issues – some scenes were dragged out longer than necessary, other events happened way too fast. (Also, Frances McDormand’s role was way too small, ha ha ha.) As a piece of handiwork, I think that their first film, “Blood Simple”, is a much more accomplished piece of filmmaking in terms of storytelling and style. But “Raising Arizona” has its own merits, mostly of the kind that I cannot quite explain. The storyline is a little bit campy, but the lovely eccentric characters make up for it. I thought this was the film closest to “The Big Lebowski” in how it asks some grand question in quite a simple way and is similarly filled with quirky characters doing funny things.
Unlike most Coen films, “Barton Fink” being the best example, “Raising Arizona” is not the kind of film you can discuss at length. It’s largely an action movie and deals with comparably more simple truths than, say, “A Serious Man”. But personally, I was glued to the screen and thought such simplicity doesn’t make its story any less interesting. If I had to recommend one Coen film to other people, it would probably be this one.