WGA 101 Greatest Scripts of the 21st Century #99 - O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Funny in parts, though never it quite comes together satisfactorily, this is one of the weaker scripts by the Coen Brothers, yet still better than most scripts out there.
Logline: In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.
Written by: Joel & Ethan Coen
Based on: The Odyssey by Homer
Pages: 98
O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the Coen Brothers’ eighth produced screenplay, coming on the heels of acclaimed successes such as Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and Blood Simple (their debut feature). The Coens have such a gift for memorable writing that even their lesser efforts are still better than most people’s best work. Here, the parts of the script are greater than its sum, a loose collection of adventures and incidents tied that are entertaining, but don’t feel as satisfying when taken together as a whole.
Loosely based on The Odyssey, it follows three escaped convicts on the run and searching for buried treasure in 1937 rural Mississippi with the sheriff relentlessly pursuing them. Led by the charismatic Ulysses Everett McGill, they stumble into one adventure and misadventure after another that draws its inspiration from Homer’s epic Greek poem— three women singing and washing clothes as Sirens; a one-eyed Bible salesman and Ku Klux Klan member as the Cyclops; and a blind man who predicts the outcome of their adventures corresponds to Tiresias, the blind prophet. Along the way, Everett and his partners, Pete and Delmar, briefly fall in with Baby Face Nelson, team up with a blues musician and unknowingly become singing sensations, and accidentally thwart the Ku Klux Klan from lynching their band mate.
Who are the characters in the O Brother, Where Art Thou? screenplay?
Ulysses Everett McGill – the most educated of the lot, fastidious about his hair maintenance, who convinces Pete and Delmar to escape with him, using the treasure as a cover to prevent his ex-wife from remarrying.
Pete – a representation of Odysseus’ soldier who follow him.
Delmar O’Donnell – the slightly dim-witted third man of the trio.
Tommy Johnson – a skilled blues musician who is based on Robert Johnson, the blues musician rumored to have sold his soul to the devil at the Crossroads.
Penny Wharvey-McGill – Everett’s ex-wife
Daniel “Big Dan” Teague – a one-eyed Ku Klux Klan member who masquerades as a Bible salesman and mugs the trio for their money.
Menelaus “Pappy” O’Daniel – the incumbent corrupt governor of Mississippi facing the possibility of getting ousted in the upcoming election.
Sheriff Cooley – the ruthless rural sheriff in relentless pursuit of the convicts.
Homer Stokes – the favored candidate for the governor’s election and the leader of a Ku Klux Klan mob.
Although the script plays out in true uproarious Coen brothers’ fashion, something in its episodic nature prevents it from coming together as a whole. Still, there is much to admire. The Coens really know how to mine a scene for comedy, such as Everett asking hobos on a train if there’s a smith amongst them only to get yanked out of the car (page 3-4)…
… the blind man ending his solemn “prophecy” by suddenly yelling at them to acknowledge his words and startling them (page 6)…
… Delmar’s dismay in mistakenly thinking that the Sirens turned Delmar into a toad (page 45).
Moreover, they capture the voice, dialect, and cadence of the Mississippi setting in the dialogue and mannerisms that makes for a convincing snapshot of the environment.
Their knack for finely tuned action lines should be acknowledged. Perhaps it’s their literary acumen, but the writing conjures imagery with some lovely description. On page 43, here is how Pete reacts to Everett when the latter asks if he’s going to introduce them to the Sirens:
Here’s how the Coens describe Everett as a character on page 3:
And here’s how they describe the convicts encountering the blind man on page 5:
Truly, this is a level of writing many aspiring screenwriters would give their first-born child to achieve (figuratively speaking… maybe). Although it’s not as strong as some of their past work or their future projects, O Brother, Where Art Thou? is proof that the Coen brothers are gifted writers with a talent for drama and comedy, drawing from literary influences to create a new kind of story for the silver screen. Be advised, though, not to make your feature script feel like a string of episodes or short films assembled together in a narrative. At the end of the day, the sum should be greater than its parts, not the other way around.