The Man Who Wasn't There
Movie, 2001, The 2000s, Set in A barber, 1949
The Man Who Wasn't There is #9 of 21 in release order and #9 of 21 in chronological order in the The Coen Brothers.
The story
A tale of murder, crime and punishment set in the summer of 1949. Ed Crane, a barber in a small California town, is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris' infidelity and a mysterious opportunity presents him with a chance to change it.
The Man Who Wasn't There recap
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) follows a silent small-town barber in 1949 whose attempt at blackmail sets off a chain of deaths. Ed Crane (Billy Bob Thornton) cuts hair in Santa Rosa, California, in the shop of his brother-in-law Frank. His wife Doris (Frances McDormand) keeps the books at a department store and, Ed suspects, sleeps with its manager, "Big Dave" Brewster (James Gandolfini). When a customer, Creighton Tolliver (Jon Polito), pitches a dry cleaning business that needs $10,000, Ed anonymously blackmails Big Dave for the money. Big Dave works out who sent the note and attacks Ed, who stabs him to death with a cigar knife. The police arrest Doris instead, and Ed hires the expensive lawyer Freddy Riedenschneider (Tony Shalhoub). Ed also takes an interest in the piano playing of a teenager, Birdy Abundas (Scarlett Johansson). Shot in black and white, it is the Coens' ninth feature, following O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Man Who Wasn't There ending explained
The Man Who Wasn't There ends with Ed executed for a murder he did not commit. Doris hangs herself on the first day of her trial, and the autopsy shows she was pregnant though she and Ed had not slept together for years. After a car crash with Birdy, Ed wakes up under arrest: Tolliver's body has turned up, and the police decide Ed killed him. His trial ends in a mistrial, he is sentenced to death, and he writes his story for a magazine. Walking to the electric chair, he hopes to meet Doris again.
Post-credits scenes
No. The Man Who Wasn't There has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Man Who Wasn't There
The Man Who Wasn't There isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.5/10, Rotten Tomatoes 81%
Where it fits
- Release order: after O Brother, Where Art Thou?, before Intolerable Cruelty.
- Chronological order: after O Brother, Where Art Thou?, before Intolerable Cruelty.
Cast
- Billy Bob Thornton as Ed Crane
- Frances McDormand as Doris Crane
- Michael Badalucco as Frank
- James Gandolfini as Big Dave Brewster
- Katherine Borowitz as Ann Nirdlinger Brewster
- Jon Polito as Creighton Tolliver
- Scarlett Johansson as Birdy Abundas
- Richard Jenkins as Walter Abundas
- Tony Shalhoub as Freddy Riedenschneider
- Christopher Kriesa as Officer Persky
- Brian Haley as Officer Krebs
- Jack McGee as P.I. Burns
Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen.