Do George Clooney and his two friends really sing along in the Coen brothers’ film? Here’s the truth about this cult sequence from “O’Brother”.
For many, this is the Coen brothers’ funniest film. O’Brother joins the Prime Video catalog today and if you haven’t seen it, then this is a golden opportunity. This dark comedy is set in deep Mississippi, during the Great Depression.
Three chained prisoners escape from the penal colony and attempt the adventure of their lives to regain their freedom and their home. Having nothing to lose and united by their chains, they undertake a journey strewn with pitfalls and rich in colorful characters. But they will have to be more inventive to escape the mysterious and cunning Sheriff Cooley, who is chasing them…
Clooney’s comedic potential
George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson play opposite each other and reveal all their comedic potential in front of the Coens’ camera. Particularly the first, who excels in the role of Ulysses Everett McGill, the mastermind of the group. A fan of the two filmmakers, the actor admitted to having accepted the project without even reading the script.
When reading the script, Clooney discovered a scene in which the three friends, who then called themselves the Soggy Bottom Boys, agreed to record a country song for a little money. Their performance is so acclaimed in the country that the governor ends up granting them a pardon at the end of the film.
“They thought I knew how to sing.”
To be able to sing himself, the actor decides to take a few lessons. But when it came time to record the piece in the studio, it was a disappointment. In interview given in 2014George Clooney reveals: “The Coens thought I could sing. I told myself I could do it. They all looked at the ground, shaking their heads. They listened to my song again and it was terrible. I understood that they were going to bring in someone to sing for me.”
That someone will be Dan Tyminski, a bluegrass singer. He will interpret I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow, released in the early 1910s, a title that would enjoy a resurgence in popularity thanks to O’Brother. The year following the film’s release, this cover peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot Country chart.
O’Brother is available on Prime Video.