It's the summer of 1949 and small town barber Ed Crane feels life has past him by. His wife's infidelity would seem to compound this feeling, but Ed sees an opportunity for blackmail, and a misguided attempt to reverse his fortunes; But a dubious plan inevitably sucks Ed into a world far darker and more bereft than the one he sought to escape. The Man Who Wasn't There is yet another sublime piece of filmmaking from the Coen brothers (who seem to be working their way through every genre of cinema), a modern twist on the noir thriller, laconic, stylish and often darkly humorous, with an understated performance from Billy Bob Thornton that borders on perfection.