I want to take a look at the scene where the boy safe walking down the road, sans car, to the tune of I'll Fly Away. This montage scene does an excellent job of setting up some really cool character development, revealing some important bits about the Soggy Bottom Boys and their future just in general, how popular they're growing, how much their life is not following the fame they are achieving, and how just in general, they're on a long weary road, just traveling further down the road of life, and taking what life gives them. The scene has several tilts and pans that just show them walking along different sections of scenery, with children walking by carrying ice, the boys trying to get picked up and then realizing it's a prison car, etc. Then we see a scene of the boys stealing a pie, all caught from one shot. This was one of my favorite shots of the film. It shows Everett snagging the pie from the pie window, then running away with Pete in tow. And then Delmar reaches up and places some money on the windowsill where the pie had been, then follows a long behind them, hooping and hollering. I loved how this scene was shot, and what it represented. It was a beautiful single shot, from inside the window facing a giant hill. We saw the pie, it getting snagged, and then appeared Everett and Pete running away. Then Delmar's hand reaches up, places the dollar, and we see him run away. Beautifully shot. But I love what the scene represented too. It did a great job of establishing some of these characters, showing how Everett still really kind of a wild do it yourself guy, just out for his own and getting back to his wife. And we see Pete, who had the conversion of sorts, but is still kind of just following Everett around. And then we see Delmar, who seems to have had more of a conversion than Pete, and seems to be a genuinely pretty good guy, who is furthering this by trying to do the right thing and pay back what they stole. It was a beautiful part of the scene. The rest of the scene goes on to show the boys continuing on their journey, eating the pie, having a good time. It shows people searching for records of the Soggy Bottom Boys and not able to get any, among other things, all showing how much fame they were getting, and then being put parallel to the boys as they were now, just wandering along with no fame to their names. The scene created an excellent parallel, showing the fame they could be getting, and the life on the road that they had now.
I think this film in and of itself does an excellent job creating some really compelling characters who all want different things, but are thrust into this seemingly one minded journey together. They all have desires that are joined into this one "search for treasure". And they're able to get along pretty well for the most part because they all see their own lights at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately. most of the boys end up finding that the light they saw at the end of the tunnel disappears a bit, because the treasure isn't really real. And even for Everett, he finds that the treasure he's seeking maybe isn't quite what he was expecting. For Everett, he ends up happy of sorts, because he's with his wife again, and he's got his kids. But at the same time, he's still a little chained up like he was at the beginning. His wife seems to be holding some things over him, and he can't quite get what he wants out of the marriage. But he's still together with her, so he's happy. The boys find out that their treasure isn't actually real, and so they can't follow their own dreams of becoming businessmen, or of getting back the family farm. But they do seem to end up happy. More established in life, with a sense of potential joy in the future, as they've all been pardoned, and get to be involved in something that seems like it will be beneficial to their lives. But nobody really gets the treasure they seek, which is awesome because it fits so poignantly with one of the opening lines where the old blind man says they will get treasure, but they won't get the treasure they seek. The Coen brothers do an excellent job of making this film about so much, and having a lot of excitement to it, but also making it about one central theme: You can't always get what you want, but when you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.
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