This picture is already more than 20 years old, for some it is a crazy comedy, for others it is a stupid movie and a waste of precious time. In the late nineties, this tape made a splash, became a kind of classic for a certain audience.
The Big Lebowski is a dark comedy crime drama by the Coen brothers. The basis of the script is the book “Deep Sleep”, which was written in 1939 by R. Chandler. The action takes place in Los Angeles, the plot immerses the viewer in the atmosphere of 1991. The film did not have much commercial success, but it was re-released many times, it can often be found in the collections of sophisticated fans of non-standard cinema. He raised almost 50 million, paying for himself three times over.
Dude Lebowski and his adventures
The protagonist is the carefree pacifist Jeffrey Lebowski. Among acquaintances, he is called Dude. It is difficult to say what income he lives on, but he has an old car, he spends all his free time in a bowling alley. In the first minutes of the picture, he is beaten up by two criminal guys right in the rented house. The reason for the violence is the return of debts that his wife has. But the thing is, Lebowski was not tied by the knot. The bandits, realizing the misunderstanding, leave his home. Instead of apologizing, thugs urinate right on their favorite carpet.
Lebowski decided to take Walter’s advice, a friend suggested he go to his namesake, the “big” Lebowski. This is an elderly and impudent millionaire in a wheelchair. He does not want to listen to the Dude’s reproaches, he is not going to pay any moral compensation to the idler. The injured party decides to recover its costs by confiscating the carpet lying at the entrance. Along the way, the battered Dude meets Bunny, a young beauty who married for wealth.
The next day, our hero again has a namesake. The old man reports that his wife has been kidnapped and a ransom is demanded. He offers to earn some money by becoming a courier for the transfer of a million. On this day, the Dude is beaten again, the rapists take the rich man’s carpet with them, sending our friend into a long unconscious state. He is awakened by a call from the kidnappers, soon he must hand over the ransom at the appointed place. Adventurer Walter advises to deceive the villains by throwing a “doll” at them. An unruly comrade takes the initiative into his own hands, crosses out all Lebowski’s plans. Now they have a million, and the kidnapped girl remained in captivity. Friends go to a bowling alley, and after the game they discover the car is missing with a valuable case in it.
The next morning, Dude gets to Maud, this is the daughter of a rich man. She tells him that her boyfriends took the carpet, this is a memory of her mother. The lady assumes that the kidnapping is fake. Pretty woman just breeds the old man for money. The tidy sum does not belong to him, it is the property of a charitable foundation. The Big Lebowski is simply the founder of the organization. What follows is a disassembly between namesakes. The elder scolds the Dude for failure, the younger lies and proves the opposite. The millionaire shows the loser the girl’s severed finger, which was sent by the kidnappers.
Upon returning home, the hero is beaten again, this time by a group of nihilists who speak with a German accent. The scoundrels pretend to be kidnappers, they demand a suitcase with a million. The next day, the Dude finds out that these guys are old friends of the missing Bunny. On the same day, the police find the stolen car, but there is no case with cash in it. But the unfortunate owner found a piece of homework from student Larry. All suspicions fall on the boy. Walter and the Dude try to expose the kidnapper, but mistakenly damage an expensive car parked outside the kid’s house. The result is deplorable: Lebowski’s car is left without windows, it is barely able to move.
In the frame again, two gouging, who beat the Dude at the beginning of the film. They take him to Jackie Treehorn, a crime boss. He’s looking for Bunny too, he needs that money. Our hero makes excuses, but soon passes out from a cocktail with sleeping pills. Later, another meeting with Maud awaits him, she guards the Dude at his house. The lady seduces him, shares family secrets. The Big Lebowski is poor, his dead mother bequeathed all his wealth to charity. An epiphany comes to our hero: there is a scheme of deception. He just fell victim to the old man’s machinations.
It becomes known: no one kidnapped the beauty, she was just in another city. Her friends decided to take advantage of the situation and extract a decent amount from the old Lebowski. A dude and a friend come to the house of a namesake, where they meet Bunny, expose the old man in a scam. Our hero doubts the imaginary rich man’s disability, unreasonably throws the cripple out of the carriage. In the evening, they will have a skirmish with nihilist guys. They keep demanding a million that doesn’t exist. The insidious Walter bites off the ear of one of the hooligans, the rest run away. But the result is sad – their friend Donnie dies of a heart attack.
Lebowski: a hero of his time or a lazybones?
The finale of the picture is dedicated to the organization of the funeral. The heroes have to bargain with the owner of the funeral company. After cremation, the ashes of the poor fellow will be scattered on a high cliff, but some of the ashes fall on the Dude’s face. Instead of a memorial dinner, the friends go bowling again.
When creating, real people were used with their oddities and problems. It is difficult to understand the intention of the authors, the film should not be watched by old people who believe in Stalin and the feat of Matrosov. This is a tape for young people, supporters of hippies, anti-globalists. It has no special morals and ideas. The opinions of critics are very contradictory: some consider the film a masterpiece, others – absolute bad taste. The picture intertwines stupidity and humor, jokes and catchphrases, kindness and complete absurdity.
