FRIENDS OF ROCK ROAD LIBRARY FILM CLUB

Wednesday, 31 January 2018

Raising Arizona Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, USA 1987, Cert. 15, 94 mins

About Raising Arizona The Coen Brothers filmography includes an eclectic range of genres and subject matter characterized by their subversion of established conventions and a parade of eccentric characters, situations and complex plotlines. Following their debut thriller, Blood Simple, which achieved critical acclaim in 1984, Raising Arizona was their second film. It is a wacky crime comedy in which a bungling small-time robber and ex- convict (Nicolas Cage) falls for police officer (Holly Hunter). When the unlikely lovestruck couple find themselves unable to have the baby they long for, their decision to kidnap one of the quintuplets of a wealthy furniture magnate leads to a rollercoaster of complications, lurching giddily between drama and hilarity. The film was nominated for a series of awards including Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture for Cage (American Comedy Awards) and Best Actress for Hunter (NSFC).

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7N27bRgilg

Screenplay: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Music: Carter Burwell Cinematography: Barry Sonnenfeld

Cast H. I. McDunnough - Nicolas Cage Ed – Holly Hunter Nathan Arizona, Sr. – Trey Wilson Gale – John Goodman Evelle – William Forsythe

Glen – Sam McMurray Coen Brothers Dot – Frances McDormand Photo attribution: Georges Biard Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb – Leonard Small (Creative Commons Attibution Share-Alike) Discussion Prompts

1. Raising Arizona has variously been described as a ‘wacky’, ‘skrewball’, ‘surreal’ comedy. How does the comedy work in the film – what elements are involved and how do they work together (e.g. plot, dialogue, camerawork, music, etc.)?

2. Does the film have a moral compass – if so, how is this established? Is the film’s subject matter problematic in any way - if so, how are these problematic aspects handled, and to what effect?

3. What about the main characters – how are they presented? To what extent do we warm to them or dislike them? Why?

4. Some have argued that the film presents a critique of 1980s American Dream and yuppiedom. To what extent would you agree with this?

Reviews and Further Reading

Martyn Bamber, Senses of Cinema, March 2017: http://sensesofcinema.com/2017/cteq/raising- arizona/

Christoher Orr, The Atlantic 9 September 2014: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/09/30-years-of-the-coens-raising- arizona/379815/

Mark Dinning, ‘Empire Essay: Raising Arizona Review’, 14 Oct 2015 https://www.empireonline.com/movies/empire-essay-raising-arizona/review/

Will Self, Guardian 11 Feb 2011: ‘Will Self considers the Coen Brothers’: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/feb/11/will-self-coen-brothers

G. S. Perno ‘Directors’ Trademarks: The Coen Brothers’, Cinelinx 23 feb 2016: http://www.cinelinx.com/movie-stuff/item/9019-directors-trademarks-the-coen-brothers.html

Further viewing (Coen Brothers)

Blood Simple 1984 O Brother Where Art Thou? 2000 Barton Fink 1991 The Man Who Wasn’t There 2001 Fargo 1996 No Country For Old Men 2007 The Big Lebowski 1998 True Grit 2010

See: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Coen-brothers