This collaboration between George Clooney and the Coen brothers is a murky melodrama revolving around skullduggery in the summer of 1959. “Suburbicon” is a peaceful, prefab, homogenized community with affordable homes and friendly neighbors—until an African-American couple, the Mayers (Karimah Westbrook, Leith M. Burke), move in with their young son (Tony Espinosa) and their presence arouses so much ire that a racist petition is circulated and a riot erupts. Police are summoned, but the bigotry and torment continues. Meanwhile next-door, Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon), his paraplegic wife Rose (Julianne Moore), their son Nicky (Noah Jupe), and Rose's twin sister Margaret (also Moore) are tied up and chloroformed by thugs during a home invasion, and Rose dies. When Gardner and Margaret refuse to identify the crooks in a police lineup, plucky Nicky begins to suspect that his dour father and saucy aunt are involved in his mother's death. Nicky's misgivings are shared by a savvy insurance claims investigator (Oscar Isaac), especially since dim-witted Gardner's mob debts have been mounting. Rewritten by Clooney and Grant Heslov from the Coens' 1986 screenplay, Suburbicon is not funny enough to be a satirical black comedy nor cohesive enough to be a subversive crime caper, and there is no link between the Lodges' and Mayers' storylines. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director George Clooney and co-writer Grant Heslov, and the production featurettes “Welcome to Suburbicon” (30 min.), “The Usual Suspects: Casting” (14 min.), and “Scoring” (8 min.). Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing would-be satire.] (S. Granger)
Suburbicon
Paramount, 104 min., R, DVD: $30.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, Feb. 6 Volume 33, Issue 1
Suburbicon
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: