Reading the Coens "Intolrable Cruelty"
"Who needs love when you've got equity?" Intolerable Cruelty is like a modern Ecclesiastes—a satire on the emptiness of wealth, power, and human schemes, and a cynical one at that. The Coen Brothers take on the romantic comedy but twist it into something darker, a story where love is transactional, trust is foolish, and even victory tastes hollow. Over twenty years after its release, the themes and message of the story is even more relevant. At the center of it all is Miles Massey, a ruthless divorce attorney who has turned the dissolution of marriage into an art form. He is the architect of the legendary "Massey Prenup," an ironclad legal document that ensures no spouse can walk away with a dime they don’t deserve. He is rich, successful, and completely without illusions about human nature. He has seen behind the curtain of romance and found nothing there but greed. Enter Marylin Rexroth, a woman who is just as calculating as Miles. She marries for money, m...
