THE EVIDENCE: The Big Lebowski (1998), No Country for Old Men (2007), A Serious Man (2009), True Grit (2010)
WHY THEM: Like two smart-alecs in the back of a classroom, the Coens are occasionally too clever for their own good. But they’ve been astute students, co-opting old-school film noir and incorporating their own twisted brand of wit and irony. A Coen hero is a bumbler, so tracking down the money in a Coen film makes for a bumpy, and often deadly, ride. But they can play it straight, too, as shown by A Serious Man, 2009’s quiet meditation on growing up Jewish, and 2010s nearly classical Western, True Grit. —Jeff Labrecque
7. Joel and Ethan Coen
THE EVIDENCE: The Big Lebowski (1998), No Country for Old Men (2007), A Serious Man (2009), True Grit (2010)
WHY THEM: Like two smart-alecs in the back of a classroom, the Coens are occasionally too clever for their own good. But they’ve been astute students, co-opting old-school film noir and incorporating their own twisted brand of wit and irony. A Coen hero is a bumbler, so tracking down the money in a Coen film makes for a bumpy, and often deadly, ride. But they can play it straight, too, as shown by A Serious Man, 2009’s quiet meditation on growing up Jewish, and 2010s nearly classical Western, True Grit. —Jeff Labrecque
