O' Brother Where Art Thou
More than just a good soundtrack.
By Megan Welch

: : : Our Rating : : :

I blame Mrs. Valles entirely, that semester we spent on Greek and Roman mythology in sixth grade exposed me to far too much culture at an early age - no wonder I don't get along with my generation. Being exposed to "The Odyssey" so early on in life gave me a good background for seeing "O' Brother Where Art Thou" which is based on Homer's tale.

The basic plotline follows George Clooney, and two men chained with him in a chain gang as they escape from their imprisonment and the journey that ensues. Clooney plays the "Ulysses" character whom embarks on his odyssey in order to return to his wife (the character based on Penelope) played by Lauren Holly, before she marries another man. Along the way the gods challenge Ulysses and his friends. The characters of Hades, the Cyclops, the sirens, the blind soothsayer and the other mythological figures are interpreted wonderfully by the Cohen Brothers.

I have to admit that I was quite skeptical walking into this movie, the main reason I saw it was because my best friend and I wanted to stare at George Clooney for two hours (we miss our weekly ER fix). However, five minutes into the film we were hooked. Can we thank Steven Soderbergh enough for teaching George Clooney how to really act? I think not.