“The Hudsucker Proxy” (1994), by Joel and Ethan Coen, is the first true cult film from the Coen brothers, whose series of extraordinary independent films revealed a duo capable of putting a new spin on any genre.
After the run of successes of “Blood Easy” (1984), “Arizona Polite” (1987), “Miller’s Crossing” (1990) and “Barton Fink” (1991), the Coens teamed up with the action movie mega-producer Joel Silver to make his first big-name Hollywood studio movie.
What should have been hailed as one of the most notable works of the decade became the first failure of their careers.
The problem wasn’t so much the lack of box office receipts as the notoriety, as other notable films from 1994 (one in particular) overshadowed what the Coens had achieved (more on that later). Today, “The Hudsucker Proxy” (yes, the film explains and justifies its title) feels like a discovery for the uninitiated and an all-time classic for those who have been in love with Hud for 30 years.
It begins in 1958 New York, with the revelation that a Hudsucker Industries employee named Norville Barnes, played by Tim Robbins, is about to jump from the top floor of the company building. Who is he, how did he get there, and why is he jumping on a snowy New Year’s Eve?
The film begins at the end and moves backwards (this is not the only case in which the narrative and the narrator manipulate time).
We see how Barnes, a likeable, clumsy fool, manages to get a job at Hudsucker Industries, which is undergoing a major power shift following the death of the company’s founder, Warring Hudsucker (Charles Durning, fantastic in just a couple of scenes).
The company’s new head, Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman), is looking for a scapegoat to take the blame when the stock plummets, and in walks Barnes, seemingly a perfect fit and foolish enough to be given an undeserved position of power.
Barnes has no idea why he is suddenly given so much power and attention; He’s a redneck from Muncie with a “big idea” written on a piece of paper that will take him to the top. Amy Archer, a Pulitzer-winning reporter (Jennifer Jason Leigh), discovers that Barnes is indeed a fool, but that the seemingly idiotic concept in his pocket could, in fact, become a blockbuster.
“The Hudsucker Proxy” lacks the cynicism of “The Big Lebowski,” but elevates every cinematic aspect to the fore, as all the characters are, without a doubt, movie characters.
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Every actor has to adapt to the verbal speed and style of screwball comedies. It’s not just about the energy of the performances, but also how quickly the words come out.
Sam Raimi and Joel and Ethan Coen’s script is packed with inventive narrative approaches, but also demands that each actor sound like they’re in an old movie, not necessarily “period-correct,” but in the highly stylized style one would expect. by James Cagney or Rosalind Russell. Leigh’s performance begins as a stunt, as the character becomes richer and warmer as the story develops.
Robbins is fantastic in this film, playing exactly the kind of up-and-coming actor that his studio salesman Griffin Mill in “The Player” (1992) would have eaten alive, even though they both work in environments with giant slogans overhead: “Movies, now more than ever” for Mill and “The future is now” for Barnes.
IMPORTANT FACT: “The Hudsucker Proxy” obtained an anemic 2.8 million dollars at the US box office in 1994.
Durning’s cheerful, spirited performance is reminiscent of his Oscar-nominated role in 1982’s The Best Whorehouse in Texas. John Mahoney is dazzling as Archer’s boss, and Newman fully embraces the Coens’ joyous tendency to get weird.
You also have Bruce Campbell, Steve Buscemi and Peter Gallagher, all perfect. Jim True, playing elevator operator Buzz, gives a performance that has special effect.
Bill Cobbs’ campy storytelling and acting may seem stereotypical to some, although the role itself is a commentary on those screen figures; Cobbs and the Coens avoid comparisons with Uncle Remus because the character not only possesses a kind of God distanced from the story, but functions as a literal deux ex machina.
Rest in peace Bill Cobbs. What a voice! (Hudsucker Proxy). image.twitter.com/InbeuJapxa
—Josh Sawyer (@jesawyer) June 27, 2024
It’s a clever way to instantly address and subvert the stereotype, as Cobbs’ Moses is essentially the God of this film.
Carter Burwell’s magnificent and grandiose soundtrack illustrates what the Coens have achieved this time: a tribute to Preston Sturges, with doses of corporate satire and Looney Tunes comedy. Imagine if Frank Capra had written a script directed by Terry Gilliam. It’s an unashamedly romantic, old-fashioned throwback to Hollywood, infused with wit, surrealism and extraordinary cinematography.
It’s not about style trumping substance, but rather the rare occasion when style is substance, as the love of cinematic tropes and narrative methods is put to the test. Some of the most surprising scenes here are the montages that at first glance look ancient but are clever recreations.
Circles become a major factor early on, when a coffee circle around a pivotal newspaper ad, the omnipresent clock atop Hudsucker Industries, and (without spoiling the big twist) what propels the second act into full gear. speed acquire the importance of a supernatural totem.
Raimi and the Coens’ script has a memorable line and a memorable gag in every scene. Few films of this level feel like personal expressions of love for cinema. There are so many impressive sequences to highlight, so I’ll cite just a few:
- The free fall sequences are a high-powered visual effects spectacle.
- The “laughter” montage that manages to propel the story forward
- The two taxi drivers narrate how Barnes and Archer met in a restaurant
- The exciting step of Barnes’ creation towards the public
- An absurd and exciting dream sequence that unfolds like an interpretive dance performed by someone who can’t dance.
Here everything is all-in.
When Robbins and Leigh first kiss on a balcony, it is presented as if it were the greatest kiss in cinema history.
When “The Hudsucker Proxy” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994, the film’s ode to old Hollywood was instantly overshadowed by the groundbreaking arrival of Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction,” which is edgy and modern, while Coen’s film is spectacular. and square.
It’s not a fair comparison, although other highly praised period pieces appeared at Cannes that year, such as “Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle” (which also stars Leigh) and “Ed Wood,” which found art audiences who skipped “The Hudsucker Proxy” entirely.
By the end of the year, the film was a distant memory, although Robbins also starred in another film with a difficult-to-remember title: “The Shawshank Redemption,” or, as Morgan Freeman once called it, The Hudsucker Redemption.
The film’s failure caused the Coens to return to film noir, for which we can be grateful: “Fargo” (1996) followed, and also “The Man Who Wasn’t There” (2001) and the award-winning best film “No Country for Old Men” (2007), not to mention the comical but complicated noir “The Big Lebowski” (1997).
If the Coens had continued working with big budgets and “The Hudsucker Proxy” had been a huge hit, could they have become Christopher Nolan or Denis Villeneuve? Eclectic artists working in giant sandboxes? Would it have diluted his art or resulted in more films like this?
Unlike Norville Barnes, I doubt the Coens want to alter the fabric of time and change history. Although it was a problem the year it was released, “The Hudsucker Proxy” is a huge achievement and an important discovery for the uninitiated.
You know, for kids.