--- title: "O Brother, Where Art Thou?: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/o-brother-where-art-thou/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/o-brother-where-art-thou" critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 6 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000): what the critics said Critics' score 76 from 6 reviews: 5 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to the Coen brothers’ Depression-era comedy, with praise clustering around its traditional American music, visual invention and comic performances. The songs are repeatedly treated as central to the film’s appeal, giving its eccentric adventures warmth and energy. George Clooney’s relaxed, self-mocking performance draws particular approval, alongside Roger Deakins’ cinematography. The reviews also admire the wit with which the film combines Homeric parallels, period Hollywood references and Southern folklore. The disagreement concerns how much these pleasures add up to. Variety finds the individual moments more memorable than the whole, describing a charming but lightweight escapade that lacks satisfying closure. The Hollywood Reporter is less persuaded, praising the images but finding the comedy unsatisfying and insufficiently cohesive. These reservations sit against a broadly favourable consensus: most critics enjoy the loose, episodic storytelling, while the dissenters want more substance or a stronger shape. ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The Coen brothers deliver a confidently cinematic, crowd-pleasing comedy that splices Homer's Odyssey with Depression-era America and Preston Sturges. It stands out for its witty lines, visual imagination and feelgood musical elements. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/o-brother-art-thou-review/) ## Evening Standard — Alan Parker Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The Coens create a continuously inventive and entertaining comic-ironic take on 1930s genre films set in Mississippi, blending road caper, musical and political satire. It excels as a lovingly crafted reproduction artefact that relives the Golden Age of Hollywood through comic assimilation. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/o-brother-where-art-thou-7433767.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 22 December 2000. An eccentric, picaresque Southern period comedy rife with genial madness, the film is perhaps the warmest production in the Coens’ repertoire thanks to its respectful treatment of traditional American music. The songs become a living presence and the real star, enlivening the whimsical cross-pollination of Greek mythology and Old South clichés. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-22-ca-3290-story.html) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 22 December 2000. The critic calls the film a joyous musical comedy and loving homage to '30s Americana, assembled with intoxicating energy like a Warner Brothers cartoon. It highlights the film's warmth and sincere affection for the period as a disarming surprise. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/o-brother-where-art-thou-1798192568) ## IndieWire Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 12 January 2001. The review describes the film as a mixed blessing from the Coen brothers. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-coen-brothers-o-brother-where-art-thou-a-mixed-blessing-81208/) ## Screen Daily 15 May 2000. Festival review. The review calls it a witty, lightweight comedy with strong appeal in niche markets, praising Clooney's delightfully self-mocking performance as a charming rogue and the well-cast eccentrics. It highlights the ingenious reworking of sources, foot-tapping soundtrack, and Deakins' glorious images. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/o-brother-where-art-thou/402370.article) ## Sight and Sound — Kevin Jackson 1 October 2000. The critic highlights the film's rich period soundtrack and clever blending of Homeric parallels with references to Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels. It praises Clooney's relaxed, self-mocking performance and the loving evocation of American folk culture and music. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/469) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Rating ****. 15 September 2000. The Coens’ Homeric pastiche has brio, wit, and style, and the whole picture is air-cushioned with appealing comedy and its own unassuming good nature. It is a film which is impossible to dislike. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/sep/15/culture.reviews) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Michael Rechtshaffen 15 May 2000. The critic finds the film a wildly ambitious but ultimately unsatisfying goof on The Odyssey. It is praised for its gorgeous visuals and Roger Deakins' cinematography but criticized for lacking the cohesive bliss of Fargo. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/o-brother-art-thou-review-movie-2000-1258298/) ## The New York Times Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 22 December 2000. The Coen brothers deliver a rambunctious and inspired ride through a portable anthology of Americana, blending elements of The Odyssey with scraps of other cultural touchstones in a picaresque Depression-era Mississippi tale. The film is one of their sillier efforts but richer and more serious than it first appears, with its pastiche of period style and fascination with American popular culture reaching new heights of whimsy. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/22/movies/film-review-hail-ulysses-escaped-convict.html) ## Time Out — GA 27 January 2016. The review notes the film's anarchic, shaggy tone as a Depression-era semi-musical road comedy loosely based on The Odyssey. It singles out Clooney's perfect casting, the wealth of terrific music, great dialogue, Deakins' camerawork, and a wondrous deus ex machina as key delights. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/o-brother-where-art-thou) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy 15 May 2000. Festival review. A charming if lightweight Coen brothers escapade, this musically tinged riff on The Odyssey set in the Depression-era Deep South is more memorable for its fantastic moments and visual/performance grace notes than for its insubstantial cumulative impact. It offers a fanciful tour of an Old Mississippi where kismet and bluegrass prevail, with strong craft but an “Odyssey” without full closure. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/o-brother-where-art-thou-2-1200462257/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. The critic praises the Coen brothers' wild comic invention and slapstick spirit in this loose Odyssey adaptation set in Depression-era Mississippi. George Clooney's comedic lead performance stands out as a highlight, with the film thriving on eccentricity and grotesque humor. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/o-brother-where-art-thou-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/o-brother-where-art-thou.md