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Burn After Reading

Play trailer Poster for Burn After Reading R 2008 1h 35m Comedy Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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78% Tomatometer 241 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
When a disc containing memoirs of a former CIA analyst (John Malkovich) falls into the hands of Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) and Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), the two gym employees see a chance to make enough money for her to have life-changing cosmetic surgery. Predictably, events whirl out of control for the duo doofuses and those in their orbit.
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Burn After Reading

Burn After Reading

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Critics Consensus

With Burn After Reading, the Coen Brothers have crafted another clever comedy/thriller with an outlandish plot and memorable characters.

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Critics Reviews

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Shubhra Gupta The Indian Express Burn After Reading is a comedy that makes fun of almost everything, reminding you that almost none of it is laughing matter. Apr 29, 2019 Full Review Deborah Ross The Spectator Although there are a couple of vaguely amusing moments, it fails as a comedy because it just isn't funny, and it fails as a thriller because it just isn't suspenseful and it fails as entertainment of any kind because it is all so ludicrously improbable. Aug 23, 2018 Full Review Steven D. Greydanus Decent Films It's morbidly absurdist, thoroughly pointless, and can certainly be funny at times. Rated: C+ Oct 29, 2008 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review In setting up a spy thriller that, given the idiocy of its characters, just-so-happens to proceed like a comedy, the Coens’ best humorist qualities emerge after years of slumber, now well-rested and ready to play. Rated: 3.5/4 Sep 5, 2023 Full Review James Croot The Post NZ The Coen Brothers [return] to their comedic-crime roots... with engaging and ebullient results. Rated: 4/5 Apr 28, 2021 Full Review Richard Crouse Richard Crouse I know I am about to commit film critic heresy, but I found the film's overly clever story left me cold. Rated: 2.5/5 Jan 31, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Blu B A Coen Brothers Classic. The comedy, characters, and narrative is something only once again they could come up with here. It reminds me a lot of something like Pulp Fiction where as JK Simmon summizes in this, nothing is learned or gained really. It's about the journey more than the actual destination. A bunch of quirky very well acted characters given really good dialouge have a disc and stuff just happens. People die, lie, betray, screw, and everything in between. The cinematography is good but visually it's one of the weaker films of theirs. No locations are that memorable and there really isn't much visual style to it outside of the acting and some memorable scenes. Music is good too, but not catchy or memorable on its own. Everything else is really well done. The humor is that classic quirky Coen Brothers style humor. There's a lot going on simultaneously but to it's credit it all makes sense. It is a bit jumpy and and sometimes isn't the most cohesive thing like a Pulp Fiction and doesn't have that same visual flare. But the characters are so memorable, the dialouge is really good, and it's very well put together overall that it works very well. It's a dark spy dramedy stlye flick that anyone who is a fan of the Coen Brothers, any actors in this (especially Francis), quirky comedies, or offbeat dramedies should check out. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/24/25 Full Review Henry L good movie. horrible ending Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/23/25 Full Review M D Top name actors, some funny moments, but the ending failed to deliver. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 09/14/25 Full Review Obi-wan K Don't hide in the worst batman's closet Lawd 🥀 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/09/25 Full Review s b A comedy devoid of laughs and full of irritating characters. I can understand it being a cult classic, I cannot understand it having larger appeal. I made this account purely to rate it as low as I could, I want my evening back. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/09/25 Full Review Jason B Cohen Bros comedies are an acquired taste. In this case the point is the lives of our characters are no where near as important as they think they are. You can either see this as hilarious, or just depressing. i love it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/05/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Burn After Reading

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Burn After Reading

Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Baby Crow's Feet Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Baby Crow's Feet 2:07 Burn After Reading: Official Clip - A League of Morons Burn After Reading: Official Clip - A League of Morons 3:15 Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Raw Intelligence Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Raw Intelligence 1:36 Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Cocktails and Goat Cheese Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Cocktails and Goat Cheese 1:39 Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Appearances Can Be Deceptive Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Appearances Can Be Deceptive 2:13 Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Tuchman Marsh Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Tuchman Marsh 2:32 Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Caught and Shot Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Caught and Shot 2:11 Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Osbourne Is Out Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Osbourne Is Out 2:06 Burn After Reading: Official Clip - I Got His Number Burn After Reading: Official Clip - I Got His Number 1:54 Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Harry and Linda's Blind Date Burn After Reading: Official Clip - Harry and Linda's Blind Date 2:05 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis When a disc containing memoirs of a former CIA analyst (John Malkovich) falls into the hands of Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) and Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), the two gym employees see a chance to make enough money for her to have life-changing cosmetic surgery. Predictably, events whirl out of control for the duo doofuses and those in their orbit.
Director
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Producer
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Screenwriter
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Distributor
Focus Features
Production Co
Working Title Films
Rating
R (Some Sexual Content|Pervasive Language|Violence)
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 12, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 1, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$60.3M
Runtime
1h 35m
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