Coen Brothers month: Raising Arizona

A review by Brooks Rich

This is the film that was the shot across the bow for the Coen Brothers. Blood Simple made people pay attention but Raising Arizona showed that these guys were something special. It is them at their genre-jumping best. The Coen's have this inane ability to switch genres from one film to the next. For example, they follow up Blood Simple, a dark and gritty Texas-based noir, with a borderline goofy comedy like Raising Arizona.

Raising Arizona is one of their masterpieces. The story of an ex-con and his police photographer wife who decide to steal a baby after they can't conceive is a delightfully poetic screwball comedy. The writing in this is some of the Coens best. There's comedic poetry to the writing. Lines like, but the doctor said that her insides were a rocky place where my seed could find no purchase, just flow beautifully throughout the film. It's helped that Nicolas Cage gives maybe his best performance here as the loveable H.I. McDunnough, one of the Coen's more likable protagonists.

The Coen's do some of their best character work in this film as well. They're known for making memorable minor characters stand out against the more regular protagonists in their films. This is more noticeable in the dramas, where the side characters really contrast the leads. Look no further than the Bear Guy in True Grit or Mike Yanagita in Fargo. Raising Arizona is essentially a film full of Coen Brothers' side characters. They can feel exaggerated at times but there's a humanity there when the moment calls for it. The Coen's can be extremely pessimistic but they can be sincere and poignant at the right times. The end of the film where H.I. and Ed are confronted by the father of the stolen baby is one of their most touching moments.

I adore this film. This is one of my all-time favorite comedies and easily one of my favorite Coen Brothers' films. I revisit it on a regular basis even though I basically know it by heart and it never fails to make me laugh.

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