The Man Who Wasn't There

Set in the summer of 1949 in a small northern California town, the film follows Ed Crane, a barber who has settled into a quiet, unsatisfying routine. He suspects his wife Doris is having an affair with her employer, a local department store owner named Big Dave. When a travelling salesman offers him a silent partnership in the emerging dry-cleaning business, Ed sees a way to finance a different life. He obtains the money by blackmailing Big Dave, setting off a chain of events he cannot control, and the consequences soon reach beyond the affair and the scheme itself.

Joel and Ethan Coen wrote, produced and directed the film, their ninth as directors in chronological order, following O Brother, Where Art Thou? and preceding Intolerable Cruelty. Billy Bob Thornton plays Ed, with Frances McDormand as Doris, James Gandolfini as Big Dave, Michael Badalucco as Frank, Katherine Borowitz as Ann Nirdlinger Brewster and Jon Polito as Creighton Tolliver.

Made for a budget of 20 million USD, the film took about 19 million USD worldwide, less than its cost. On IMDb it holds 7.5/10 from 120,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.5/10 from 1,818 votes. A film critics' rating of 7.8/10 from 160 reviews places critical appraisal somewhat above the audience scores, though both are broadly positive.