What filmmaking techniques does Intolerable Cruelty use?

CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Intolerable Cruelty (2003): Legal Theater, Callback Editing, The Long Reveal and Attraction Against Judgment.

Who directed Intolerable Cruelty?

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen directed Intolerable Cruelty, released in 2003. CineCode also covers Blood Simple (1985), Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Fargo (1996).

What films are similar to Intolerable Cruelty?

Films that share techniques with Intolerable Cruelty include Witness for the Prosecution (1957), The Rainmaker (1997), Bridge of Spies (2015), The Shawshank Redemption (1994).

Comedy · Romance

Intolerable Cruelty

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 2003

A famous divorce lawyer falls for a gold digger he beat in court, and she plans to get even. Their courtroom games and double crosses turn into something like love. It is a glossy comedy with a nasty sense of humor.

2 Narrative 1 Editing 1 Psychology

At a glance

Intolerable Cruelty is a 2003 comedy and romance film directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 narrative, 1 editing and 1 psychology), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Witness for the Prosecution uses several of the same techniques.

Narrative

Legal Theater

Staging a trial as a performance, with testimony and cross-examination played like theater. The rules can bring out the truth, or they can hide a verdict that was decided in advance.

How this film uses it

The courtroom works like a stage. Marylin pretends to break down over her husband's cheating, and then Miles calls a Swiss concierge named Puffy who reveals she asked him to find a rich fool. The trial is a show where the best performance wins.

Where to see it

Marylin's divorce hearing. She says she loved Rex at first sight, and Puffy testifies about how she hunted for a wealthy mark.

Editing

Callback Editing

Bringing back an earlier image, line, location or piece of staging later in the film, often with the situation reversed. You enjoy recognizing it, and the comparison adds meaning.

How this film uses it

The Massey prenup returns again and again. Howard tears it up at his wedding to prove his love. Later Marylin tears up the one that Miles signs. The same action means something new each time, and the film gets its biggest laugh from the reversal.

Where to see it

The Las Vegas wedding. Miles signs the Massey prenup to show he is not after her money, and Marylin tears it up.

Narrative

The Long Reveal

Holding back a key piece of information for a large part of the film, then revealing it in 1 moment. Everything you already watched now means something different.

How this film uses it

For most of the film, Howard D. Doyle looks like a real oil millionaire. Late on, Miles finds out he is just an actor from one of Donaly's soap operas. You see that the earlier wedding was part of Marylin's plan all along.

Where to see it

The discovery after the Vegas wedding. Miles learns that Howard D. Doyle is an actor and that Marylin tricked him.

Psychology

Attraction Against Judgment

Letting a character fall for someone they should distrust or oppose. Desire overrides suspicion, so the romance becomes a source of risk and comic or tragic tension.

How this film uses it

Miles and Marylin go from lawyer and opponent to dinner partners. During dinner, they flirt while his team copies her address book. Because each is always plotting, their feelings stay hard to read until the end.

Where to see it

The dinner date. Miles asks Marylin to dinner and they flirt while Gus breaks into her house for the address book.

Questions

Intolerable Cruelty: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does Intolerable Cruelty use?: CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in Intolerable Cruelty (2003): Legal Theater, Callback Editing, The Long Reveal and Attraction Against Judgment.
Who directed Intolerable Cruelty?: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen directed Intolerable Cruelty, released in 2003. CineCode also covers Blood Simple (1985), Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), Fargo (1996).
What films are similar to Intolerable Cruelty?: Films that share techniques with Intolerable Cruelty include Witness for the Prosecution (1957), The Rainmaker (1997), Bridge of Spies (2015), The Shawshank Redemption (1994).

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