The Roads Taken: Ethan Coen Diverges with First Solo Film

Ethan Coen strikes out on his own with Jerry Lee Lewis documentary

The premiere of Ethan’s opus, Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind marks a milestone in the brother’s diverging direction.

“Nothing succeeds like success” may be proof positive when it comes to the Coen Brothers. After decades of triumph, each struck a new path in the space of roughly a year.

As stated in interviews, their split is not necessarily permanent, nor is it personal. But it is a significant landmark in their professional careers. In fact, this latter relationship has been official since 2004, according to the rules of the Directors Guild of America, as an “established duo.” Previously, the pair simplified their official collaboration publicly by designating Joel as director and Ethan as producer, apparently by default.

The brothers’ roads diverged — not in a yellow wood but in the public eye — in 2021, when The Tragedy of Macbeth was released with only Joel’s name attached. According to reporting at that time, he declared that Ethan wasn’t interested in the Shakespeare project. Longtime collaborator and composer Carter Burwell went a bit farther, stating that Ethan’s interest in moviemaking was all but spent. The suggestion of Ethan’s interest in playwriting was tossed about for a time, but if he was ‘giving movies a rest’ as claimed, it certainly was a short one.

The Tragedy of Macbeth premiered at the New York Film Festival as its opening film, to what later amounted to great acclaim. Joel Coen had something of an advantage here, having reaped rewards with Ethan by adapting another classic work, “The Odyssey,” which the Brothers shaped into O Brother Where Are Thou? (This title, incidentally, was culled from the 1941 Sturges film, Sullivan’s Travels.)

Ethan Coen’s first solo project, Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind, launched this year’s Cannes Film Festival with relatively little fanfare, and the first reviews coming out of that screening varied significantly. Though some reported veiled disappointment, more or less, it seems the reviewers try to put the film in the best light. I noticed, however, one thread that seems to run through them all: there is less background context one is likely to find in other documentaries. Lewis’ public persona, for better or worse, took the lion’s share of footage (the superb editing of which, by all accounts, is thanks to Ethan’s spouse, Tricia Cooke).

We’re left to speculate whether or not Ethan, a proven paragon in collaboration, made a ‘good’ documentary. For that, we must define our terms. If by ‘good’ this means the filmmaker crafted an exciting narrative as an artist and showman, then it makes sense that Lewis at the keyboard would necessarily hold firm at the center. To the fan of concert footage, especially that of such a dynamic figure as ‘The Killer,’ this is a treasure trove.

On the other hand, others opined that the film falls short of delving deeply ‘behind the scenes.’ Religion was brought up several times, citing (too briefly, according to some) the devilish gusto that Lewis made his own, home grown as he was in the buckle of the Bible Belt. Short shrift was evidently given to the influence of other maverick performers, like Elvis and Swaggert, yet most paid fair tribute to his second rise to fame later with country music.

What ratio of Man to Musician does Lewis more justice?

The point is that none of the reviews is untrue. But more to the point, maybe, is how Ethan Coen’s first solo speaks to you. Fortunately, we have the opportunity later this year with its general release.

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Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind will be released in the United States through A24 Television sometime in 2022. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, and Flipboard. This news was brought to our attention by The Playlist, Deadline, Variety, Indiewire, and The FilmStage.