The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen/Ethan Coen, 1998, USA)

While Fargo and No Country for Old Men might be their critical pinnacles, no other film in the Coen Brothers canon has as much cultural legacy as The Big Lebowski. The 1998 film, a modest critical and commercial success upon its initial release, has since spawned a cult following that involves - among other things - a yearly festival. This is largely attributable to the film’s lead character, “The Dude” (Jeff Bridges), whose California slacker persona has bled into the broader pop culture, even influencing the wardrobe of Leonardo DiCaprio in Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film One Battle After Another.

Though broadly marketed at the time and seen by many even today as a stoner comedy, The Big Lebowski is just as thoughtful and symbolically complex as most Coen Brothers films. Set pointedly during the Gulf War (the common refrain of “this aggression will not stand” in the film actually comes from a George Bush Sr. speech), The Big Lebowski is a quintessential reflection of an American crisis of identity during the 1990s post-Cold War era. The Dude’s bowling partner Walter (John Goodman) is largely a stand-in for the U.S. military adventurism of the neoliberal era. It is telling that all actions of violence in the film are deeply comical.

Needless to say, the film is also laden with heavy sexual imagery, as embodied in part by Julianne Moore as Maude Lebowski, the artist daughter of the mega-rich Lebowski with whom “The Dude” is confused. This alone deserves its own essay, in addition to many of the film’s minor characters, including rival bowler Jesus (played by John Turturro, who would go on to direct a feature film spinoff featuring the character of Jesus). The Big Lebowski is eminently quotable, and the Coens certainly have a way of expressing the absurdity of how catchphrases appear in our language.

9/10