For my money the brother duo of Joel and Ethan Coen are the most important film directors of the last 20 years in American Cinema. Fargo is a wonder, The Big Lebowski is the definition of a cult classic and their Oscar winner for Best Picture No Country For Old Men is a modern day masterpiece.
The duo is renowned for remaining low key while letting their work speak for itself. This “private lives are private” approach extends doubly to their family so when the photos from this post came across my news wire I felt compelled to share it with the world. Who you see is Frances McDormand, wife of Joel Coen since 1984 and star in many of the Coen Brother’s films, with her adopted son from Paraguay Pedro Coen.
McDormand and Pedro were spotted out after the former’s triumphant premiere in the play “Good People.” In a glowing review by Ben Brantley in The New York Times he said of the performance that:
In the arguments that erupt throughout “Good People” — and they range from comradely sniping to the tossing of whatnots (a googly-eyed rabbit toy, as it happens) — characters often accuse one another of being too mean or too nice, too soft or too hard. They’re right on all counts.
Whether it’s Ms. Parsons’s amiably avaricious landlady or Ms. Goldsberry’s reflexively compassionate suburbanite, there’s nothing pure about the goodness or badness of the folks who inhabit this play. This makes them among the most fully human residents of Broadway these days.
McDormand and her siblings were all adopted by a Canadian couple so she has a connection to how the process can change lives for the better.
In writing this up I was reminded of an interview with Bruce Springsteen in which he was asked if his children attend he and his wife Patti Scalfia’s (a member of The E Street Band) concerts. He answered laughingly asking what teenage kid would want to go see 1,000’s of people screaming for their parents? I wonder if Pedro has the same conflict in regards to his dad, mom and uncle’s work. Maybe he doesn’t go out to premieres with friends but I hope he at least allows himself to watch Raising Arizona from time to time. I for one couldn’t imagine my life without references from that film.
Here’s one more shot of Frances and Pedro having a great time celebrating:
All Photos: Splashnews.com
