Movie Title: Burn After Reading
Genre: Comedy | Crime | Drama
Main Cast: John Malkovich – Osbourne Cox | Frances McDormand – Linda Litzke | George Clooney – Harry Pfarrer | Brad Pitt – Chad Feldheimer | Tilda Swinton – Katie Cox | and more
Movie Plot: Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) is a CIA analyst who decides to write a memoir about the CIA after getting fired. His wife, pediatrician Katie Cox (Tilda Swinton), wants a divorce and copies his personal files onto a compact disc. Her lawyer’s receptionist accidentally leaves the disc at Hardbodies, a health club.
Two employees of the gym, Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) and Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) get hold of the disc and assume that it is highly classified information. At first, Chad and Linda plan to give the disc back to Osbourne for a reward; the money to pay for Linda’s cosmetic surgery. However, they resort to blackmail. Chad meets Osbourne who, aware that the “information” is merely his memoir, refuses to pay. Chad explains to Linda that Osbourne hit him and refused to give him the money. Linda decides to take the information to the Russian embassy. At the embassy, she hands over the disc, promising that she will give more information afterwards. But because they don’t actually have any more information, they decide to break into Osbourne’s house to steal more.
Katie has been having an affair with Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a womanizing Treasury agent. By chance, he has recently met Linda online and begun an affair with her as well. Chad stakes out Osbourne’s house and breaks in when he sees Harry and Katie leave. Harry, however, returns and startled to find Chad hiding in a closet, and shoots him point blank. Chad is not carrying ID and has cut the labels out of his clothes; when Harry sees this, he thinks Chad is a spy and disposes of the body. Two days later at the CIA headquarters, an official (David Rasche) and his director (J. K. Simmons) learn that information from Osbourne has been transferred to the Russian Embassy. They are perplexed and decide to maintain observation until the situation “makes sense”.
A few days later, Harry leaves Osbourne’s house after a brief argument with Katie. On his way out, he spots the man who has been trailing him. Harry discovers that the man works for a divorce firm hired by his wife, who is later revealed to have been cheating on him as well. Harry is devastated and goes to see an agitated Linda, who confides in Harry that her friend Chad is missing; he agrees to try to help find him (not knowing that Chad is the man he killed in Cox’s home earlier).
The next morning, Harry and Linda meet in a park, and she provides him with more information about Chad’s disappearance. When Harry realizes that Chad is the man he killed, he becomes paranoid once more and flees in terror, assuming that Linda is also a spy. Linda then turns to Ted Treffon (Richard Jenkins), the manager of Hardbodies, who has feelings for her. Believing that the Russians have kidnapped Chad, he agrees to look for more information in Osbourne’s computer. But Osbourne, finding that Katie has emptied their bank account, decides to break into his own house. Finding Ted at his computer, Osbourne shoots Ted who survives and is chased out of the house by Osbourne who kills Ted in the street with a hatchet.
The movie ends at CIA headquarters a few days later, where the official and his director are trying to understand what happened. Harry and Linda are arrested and Osbourne is shot by a CIA Agent who felt he had to take action and couldn’t stand by while someone was being killed in broad daylight, the bullet has put Osbourne in a fatal coma and Osbourne is most likely going to die in his coma state. Linda agrees to say whatever the courts want her to as long as they pay for her operations. The film ends with Palmer and the CIA Superior confused with the series of events. (SOURCE)
This week’s theme is “It Was A Disappointment.” I really expected too much from this movie considering that John Malkovich, George Clooney and Brad Pitt were in it. I was expecting something worth my time and be awed with a great storyline but I was wrong. I never thought that a movie can be centered about the stupidity of some people.
Anyway, I think I never really appreciated the movie because I am not into black comedy. Though the cast was great, the overall impact of the movie was disappointing.
This is my sixth entry to the movie meme “Tuesday Couch Potatoes.”
Image Source: Focus Pictures
I couldn’t agree with you more. I don’t know why Brad Pitt agreed to do this movie (and he died too, ). And the characters are all veteran and really heavy celebrities. Oh well, I guess, not all the movies can make us happy and satisfied.
http://www.anliz.info/2010/03/tcp-new-moon-i-was-disappointed.html
grabe din expectations ko sa movie kapag big hollywood stars ang cast and I was dissapointed for countless times. now i know that not all movies w/ great casts have great stories.
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Mom’s Ups and Downs
looks like a great cast! still haven’t seen this one so i cannot judge if it was worth it. but based on the plot that you gave, this is not my kind of movie. will try to watch it nonetheless to see for myself.
thanks for joining us this mommy rubz. next week, we will feature Wedding Movies. till then, take care and happy tcp!
sometimes, you wonder why these great actors would actually agree to perform for this kind of movies…
Yes, yes, that’s so right!!! I was also thinking of this movie… I watched this because of the cast. They were such a hoot in Ocean’s Eleven and I expected no less. What made this so disappointing, for me, was the too-complicated storyline about something so really, really nonsensical. Yeah, you’d have to wonder at the decision of the actors who agreed to do this. Maybe it looked good on paper? Because it certainly did not, on film.
This week, my entry is here.