Come tap your toe with to music. Grin and shake your head at the shenanigans of the characters in the 2000 adventure comedy
“O Brother, Where Art Thou?” at Odell Public Library, 307 S. Madison Street, Morrison, IL, on Tuesday, October 13, 2015. Doors open at 2:00 p.m., and the movie begins at 2:15. All this fun is coupled with complimentary popcorn and soda. However, donations are welcome.
Watch a video clip of the film.
The story, set in 1937 depression-ridden Mississippi, centers on three convicts. Everett McGill, played by the lovable George Clooney, is a man who is imprisoned for practicing law without a license. He and two others who escape from a chain gang set out to retrieve the $1.2 million that Everett claimed he buried. Actually, he wants to get back to his family before his wife remarries. Of course, he is not eager for company, but since the men are chained together, he must take them with him. They men get a lift from a blind man driving a handcar on a railway. He tells them that they will find their fortune–but not the one they seek.
While driving past a lonely crossroads, they pick up a young black man, Tommy Johnson. He claims he sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the ability to play guitar. In need of money, the four make their way to a radio broadcast tower, where they record a song for the radio as the Soggy Bottom Boys. Unbeknownst to them, the recording becomes a major hit!
Much of the music used in the film is period-specific folk music, including Virginia bluegrass. It includes religious music of the primitive Baptists and traditional African American music. Songs reflect the wide spectrum of musical styles of the old culture of the American South: gospel, delta blues, country, swing, and bluegrass. The name Soggy Bottom Boys is a homage to the Foggy Mountain Boys, a bluegrass band led by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.
“O Brother, Where Art Thou?” is a connection between old-time music and political campaigning in the Southern United States, making reference to the traditions, institutions, campaign practices, and political reform that defined Southern politics in the first half of the 20th century.
Mark your calendar. As we approach the political campaign of 2016, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” provides comedic relief. See you at the movies!