‘Man Who Wasn’t There’: Coen Bros’ Overlooked Noir Masterpiece

Joel and Ethan Coen’s “The Man Who Wasn’t There” (2001) is one of their later-period masterpieces that has always been overlooked. The new Criterion Collection release sheds a needed light on this acclaimed but lesser-known work, which, astonishingly, resulted in the Coens sharing the Best Director award at the ’01 Cannes Film Festival, with none other than David Lynch (who also won for “Mulholland Drive”). “Fargo” (1996), “The Big Lebowski” (1998) and “No Country for Old Men” (2007) may be Coen’s creative calling cards (and what an amazing trio they make) but “The Man Who Wasn’t There” is every bit as rich, shocking and funny as the other neo-film noirs. Billy Bob Thornton plays a quiet but skilled barber named Ed Crane, who has been faithfully cutting heads in a 1949 barbershop in Calif