Burn After Read

4/5

Burn After Reading (2008), directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, is an absurdist black comedy spy satire about the chaotic, violent consequences of human stupidity and self-absorption.

The Premise
When disgraced, short-tempered CIA analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) angrily quits his job, he decides to write a memoir. His wife Katie (Tilda Swinton), who is secretly preparing to divorce him, copies his computer files onto a CD to hand to her lawyer. However, the disc is accidentally left behind at a local gym called Hardbodies.

The Conflict

• The Blackmail: The disc is found by two dimwitted gym employees: Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) and Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand). Mistaking the mundane memoir notes for top-secret government intelligence, they decide to blackmail Cox. Linda is desperate for cash to fund four expensive plastic surgeries, while Chad is simply naively along for the ride.

• Entangled Secrets: The situation escalates into complete paranoia. Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a womanizing and deeply paranoid U.S. Marshal, is having an affair with Cox’s wife while simultaneously meeting Linda through an online dating site. Meanwhile, when Cox refuses to pay the ransom, Linda and Chad take the "classified" data to the Russian embassy to sell it.

The Resolution
As Chad breaks into Cox’s home to steal more files, Harry catches him by surprise and shoots him dead in a panic. Misunderstandings spiral out of control, leaving several people dead or injured, Harry fleeing the country, and Cox in a coma. The film ends at CIA headquarters, where two high-ranking officials review the bizarre series of events. Baffled by the body count over useless information, they decide to pay for Linda’s cosmetic surgeries just to sweep the entire absurd mess under the rug.