O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000) (***1/2)

Using the structure of Homer's THE ODYSSEY, Joel and Ethan Coen conjure a road movie that's part comedy, part musical and part fantastic fable. The title is a reference to the serious drama that the comedy director in Preston Sturges' SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS is desperate to make. But in the Coens' O BROTHER the only thing serious is its "source" material. In combining all these elements, the Coen Brothers craft a funny and truly original film. How many movies have wonderful bluegrass music, the Klu Klux Klan, a cyclops, Tommy "sounds like Robert" Johnson, Baptist Lotus-eaters, Baby Face Nelson, beautiful sirens and George Clooney?

Clooney plays Everett, the de facto leader an outfit of three escaped convicts. Pete (John Turturro, DO THE RIGHT THING) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson, THE GOOD GIRL) are his dimwitted associates, who at one point find salvation with a band of ethereal Baptists. Everett believes them fools. His only desire is to locate some buried treasure and win back his estranged wife Penny (Holly Hunter, RAISING ARIZONA), who is set to marry another man. During their adventure, they will run into a peculiar cast of shady, nefarious and/or fascinating characters.

Like the Coens' HUDSUCKER PROXY, this film references Golden Age Hollywood films. Most specifically, WIZARD OF OZ plays into several scenes as the trio tries to infiltrate a KKK rally dressed as members just like the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion did to find entrance to the Witch's castle. In the beginning of their journey, like in the ODYSSEY, a blind seer (Lee Weaver, THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN) warns them that their quest won't turn out quite as they planned. The Coens capture the Depression era with witty references. The trio plays as the bluegrass group the Soggy Bottom Boys with Tommy Johnson (Chris Thomas King, RAY), a bluesman who claims he sold his soul to the devil to be the best guitar player in the world. John Goodman (BARTON FINK) appears as one-eyed Bible salesman, and the threesome catch a ride with itchy trigger finger gangster George "don't call him Baby Face" Nelson (Michael Badalucco, THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE). And Charles Durning (TOOTSIE) is governor Pappy O'Daniel, who uses the power of the radio to reach his constituents, but still finds himself trailing fiery orator Homer Stokes (Wayne Duvall, THE FAN).

In an innovative way, the Coens use the episodic nature of the plot to work in musical numbers. Clooney and the boys don't break out into song (not every time), but the musical interludes flow with the narrative naturally and add a distinctive tone, somewhere between spiritual and down-to-earth, to the overall film. Legendary cinematographer and previous Coens collaborator Roger Deakins paints an earthy look, which slyly slides from almost sepia toned sections to richer natural photography.

Clooney is hilarious as the vane criminal who down deep is a good guy, trying to make amends for his past. Turturro and Nelson play their over-the-top characters with subtle timing. Where many films are lucky to have a few laugh-out-loud moments, O BROTHER delivers them in spades. This is largely due to the witty performances of the three leads.

Some have complained that the film meanders too much. But that's how adventures of Homer's age worked. In troubled times, a hero journeys out and overcomes various hardships to return home and change things. That's what happens here. Everett, while unlikely, is that hero. Like SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS, what eases one's sorrow is light entertainment. The Coen Brothers fills their film with great humor and wonderful songs. In the end, I found myself uplifted. This redemption tale actually has more going for it than a dozen "serious" films dealing with the same stuff.