Its been 20 years since we first saw that
tumbleweed rambling across the big screen and Sam Elliot’s smooth cowboy wisdom
like voice introduce one of the most iconic characters in modern cinema. I’m
talking about The Dude.
Back in 1998, after their award winning
‘Fargo’ had captured an audience two years previous, Joel and Ethan Coen did
something completely different. I know you can say that after every film they
do, but this was different. The film was not critically successful and left
audiences confused. A story about the laziest man in Los Angeles who becomes
mixed up with a kidnapping, blackmail, extortion, pornographers,
bowling league games, feminist artists and Nihilists would have at least earned some attention. But,
the Dude abides. The film is not a cult classic (and rightly so) spawning
theory books, screenings, an annual festival celebrating everything ‘Dude’ and
even spawned a religion, Dudeism, which I am a priest of. The Dude has stood
the test of time and I’d say it was down to Jeff Bridges immortal portrayal and
the Coen’s pure genius for creating the story and the characters.
The Big Lebowski, a simplistic plot
that becomes complicated but is in fact a film that has created so many
theories, there are books dedicated to pulling apart and piecing it all back
together. It’s a dream to analyze, especially as I’m sure the Coens are just
quietly laughing all these film writer inject their own ideas onto the story. My
favourite of theories, surprisingly comes from a religious angle and even more
so after reading Cathleen Falsini’s book ‘The Dude Abides’. She says that the
characters are all sexually starved and letting out their anger and feelings in
various, sometimes absurd way, bar The Dude who seems to float by these human
urges, although, not saying he wouldn’t say no to be seduced by Maude. But if
we were to deleve deeper in the minds of the Coens, my bet (and part of my
dissertation) is that we’d find the genre-twisting machine going at full speed.
As masters of genre twisting, in my
opinion, the Coen brothers have injected film noir into a western set up that
just makes sense in the crazy universe of the Dude and the cast of characters.
The Coen brothers have cited that they were influenced by the work of Raymond
Chandler and wanted to write a detective story but have a conventional
character, like The Dude, who was based on a close friend of theirs, at the
centre. There is far more to the characters and plot than meets the eye, in my
opinion, the Coens are the masters of genre twisting. Drifting effortlessly
from what feels like a Western, to film noir, complete with voice over, a
flawed detective, a red herring and even an unusual femme fatale with an
affected accent.
The Big Lebowski is definitely one of
my favourite films and it was honour to introduce the 20th
anniversary screening at the Watershed in Bristol in July, as part of Cinema
Rediscovered. In my intro I mentioned how the rug in the film is really the
catalyst for the story and without that rug, The Dude would never have gone to
see Jeff Lebowski. It sets the plot in motion and triggers off a whole line of
events that I don’t think even The Stranger saw coming. The rug really does tie
the film together.
The Big Lebowski is back in cinemas
from today, thanks to Park Circus. Go see this cult classic on the big screen!
Go to Park Circus to find out where it’s
playing near you.